After the mysterious disappearance and subsequent charging with corruption by China of its previous President, Interpol has been voting on his successor. The front runner had been seen as the vice-President, Russian Alexander Prokopchuk.
While he was Interpol's Moscow bureau chief, he was accused of abusing the so-called red notice system - international arrest warrants - to target those who were critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
No such accusations have been levelled at him while he has been one of Interpol's four vice-presidents.
Human rights groups and US Senators had expressed their concerns over his candidacy for the mainly ceremonial post.
There had been growing fears among Russian human rights groups and officials from other countries that Moscow would use his position as president to target its political opponents.
A bipartisan group of US senators said electing Mr Prokopchuk would be "akin to putting a fox in charge of the henhouse", while a prominent Kremlin critic said it would be like "putting the mafia in charge".
In the event Interpol rejected Putin’s pro-cop Chuck.
Interpol has elected a South Korean as president of Interpol, following a row over the Russian candidate.
Kim Jong Yang will become the new head of the global crime fighting organisation.
Current vice president Major General Alexander Prokopchuk had been in the running for the top job after the incumbent, China's Meng Hongwei went missing in September.