Korea's Songdo in Incheon defeated five other cities around the world on Saturday to accommodate the secretariat of the UN Green Climate Fund.

The decision was made in a second round of voting by the GCF's board. The fund has around 190 member countries. Its secretariat will have around 500 staff in the initial stage, making it the biggest international organization based in Asia.

The Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines has more than 2,000 workers, but it is an Asia-focused organization.

The GCF will officially name Songdo as its headquarters at a meeting of member nations next month in Doha, Qatar. The fund is to raise US$100 billion from advanced countries every year starting in 2020 to help developing countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

The size of each country's donation and the operating terms of the secretariat will also be decided at the meeting in Qatar next month.

The temporary secretariat in Bonn, Germany will be relocated to Songdo by March next year, when it starts operations. The number of staff will be gradually increased.

"International organizations are predominantly based in the U.S. and Europe, and there are no major ones headquartered in Asia, which is home to more than half of the world's population," said Kim Sang-hyup, of the presidential committee on green growth. "That rallied the votes from developing countries."