Foreign Ministry to up ODA spending by 43 percent

The Foreign Ministry will expand its overseas development aid to 2.89 trillion won ($2.18 billion) next year to support countries struck by disasters such as tsunamis or earthquakes, as well as military conflicts..

In this file photo dated March 24, Minister of Environment Han Wha-jin speaks of the Korean government's plan to expand its overseas development aid contribution at the UN Water Conference in New York. [NEWS1]

The Foreign Ministry will expand its overseas development aid to 2.89 trillion won ($2.18 billion) next year to support countries struck by disasters such as tsunamis or earthquakes, as well as military conflicts.

The ministry will ask the National Assembly for a budget of 4.28 trillion won for 2024, of which 2.89 trillion won will be dedicated to ODA grants.

ODA grants from the Foreign Ministry would thus account for 64.4 percent of the total ODA grant budget of the Korean government for 2024, said the ministry.

ODA grants by the Foreign Ministry for 2024 will increase 880 billion won from this year — a hike of some 43 percent.

“Some of the ODA grants will be set apart for emergency responses, which include life-saving work in times of natural disasters like tsunamis or earthquakes, as well as during military conflicts,” said a high-ranking official of the Foreign Ministry in speaking with the press in Seoul on Tuesday.

This would include support for humanitarian work in Ukraine, added the official.

“We are hoping that with our expanded ODA budget, the Korean government will be able to serve the international community better as a Global Pivotal State,” said the official.

Different sets of budgets have been allotted for international conferences the country is expected to host next year, including the third Summit for Democracy; an African summit to be hosted in Seoul; a UN conference on reduction of reliance on plastics; and the Responsible AI in the Military Domain Summit, a high-ranking officials’ meeting on applying artificial intelligence to the military and security intelligence.

A total of 4.6 billion won has been set apart for the Summit for Democracy, and another 34.7 billion won for the African summit in Korea scheduled for next year.

The budget for projects on Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, a comprehensive strategy to boost economic and security partnerships with nations in the Indo-Pacific region, has been set at 800 million won.

The Yoon Suk Yeol government has pledged to become a top-10 nation in ODA contributions before the end of its tenure in 2027. Korea was ranked the 16th nation in terms of its ODA contribution among OECD Development Assistance Committee members in 2020.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]