A South Korean energy and environmental expert will run for the chairman of a leading international body for the assessment of climate change, the weather office said Thursday.

Lee Hoe-sung, a vice chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , will compete with candidates from other countries in the election slated for October, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

The three other candidates are Jean-Pascal van Ypersele from Belgium, Thomas Stocker from Switzerland and Chris Field from the United States.

Lee, if elected, would be the first Korean ever to chair the IPCC, which has 195 member countries.

The new IPCC chairman will serve his or her term for up to seven years, from October 2015 to the second half of 2022. The chair will be in charge of the overall work of the IPCC and takes the lead in developing the new IPCC assessment report during the tenure of office.

Lee, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Energy & Environment, is a global expert in the field of energy and climate change. The 69-year-old has served the IPCC for more than two decades as a lead author, a co-chair of Working Group III and a vice chairman.

"If elected, I would serve as a bridge between developed and developing countries to achieve a significant consensus in the world," he was quoted as saying in a press release. "I would also seek to improve the use of the IPCC Assessment Reports in wider socio-economic sectors based on my knowledge of economics," he said.

The KMA said it plans to establish a civilian advisory panel next month to support Lee's candidacy.

"Since he has been actively working for the IPCC for a long time, he has earned a global reputation and recognition based on his outstanding capability and competency," the office said. (Yonhap)