Korea will pass another milestone on June 23 when its population is projected to exceed the 50 million mark with its per capita gross national income being above $20,000.

Though shrouded with concerns over a deepening slowdown of the global economy, the achievement of becoming the world’s seventh nation to reach those statistical landmarks is not to be underestimated.

There is still much to be done for Korea to enter the club of truly advanced nations. As part of efforts toward that goal, some experts here raise the need to attract the headquarters of major international organizations to the country.

They argue that hosting global entities would bring about considerable economic benefits beyond mere trapping effects. Their reasoning sounds reasonable to an increasing number of Koreans.

With the experience of achieving both an advanced economy and a full-fledged democracy over the past decades, the country is in a favorable position to host organizations particularly designed to promote cooperation between developed and developing nations.

Korea is set to have the first global body headquartered in the country when the Global Green Growth Institute holds its inaugural meeting here in October. Fourteen nations including Korea plan to sign a treaty to transform the GGGI into an international organization at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this week.

The Seoul-based institute, a showpiece of President Lee Myung-bak’s initiative toward “low-carbon, green growth,” was set up in 2010 to help countries share their experiences and expertise for environment-friendly development.

The hosting of the organization, which is likely to increase the number of members to more than 20 in the coming years, is a step forward for the country, which has so far had the International Vaccine Institute as the only international institution it hosts.

Korea can and should do more to host more global entities.

Among the major candidate organizations is the Green Climate Fund aimed at helping developing countries reduce greenhouse gases and adapt to climate change with funds from advanced nations.

Incheon has been competing with six foreign cities including Bonn in Germany to host the GCF headquarters. A final choice is to be made at a meeting of its 24-member board in September.

It would bring considerable economic benefits and an enhanced global image to the country if Incheon succeeds in attracting the headquarters of the GCF, which is supposed to raise $100 billion annually from 2020 and have an operating staff of more than 500.

The Lee administration is urged to spare no efforts to help Incheon host it in line with the GGGI initiative.