Um Woo-chong, a former senior official at the Asian Development Bank, has been appointed vice president and director general of the World Bank Group’s Independent Accountability Mechanism. The boards of directors named him on Wednesday, and he will take office on Jan. 18. The mechanism handles grievances from communities harmed or at risk of harm from projects financed by the group and independently reviews compliance with environmental and social standards. It brings together the World Bank’s Inspection Panel and Dispute Resolution Service, the ombudsman office serving the International Finance Corporation, as well as channels linked to the group’s private-sector lending arm and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Um has more than 30 years of international development finance experience, including senior roles at the Asian Development Bank and as CEO of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. He is the second Korean to reach the World Bank Group’s vice-president level, following Kim Sang-bu’s appointment as vice president for digital and artificial intelligence in July 2024.