The first UN Women Center of Excellence for Gender Equality in Asia will be set up in South Korea.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Tuesday that the government and the UN Women signed an agreement to establish and operate the UN agency.

The envisioned facility is the first UN Women center to be set up in Asia and the first UN agency related to gender equality to be established in the nation.

The center will carry out research and development as well as training related to women’s economic empowerment, eradicating violence against women and producing gender data for analysis.

The new agency will seek to provide the foundation for devising policies on gender equality. It will also strive to promote a culture of gender equality in cooperation with various agencies, while also deploying training programs targeting civil servants.

The center is aiming to launch operations in the first half of the year.