Korea expands support for Ukraine with reconstruction projects

Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong visited Ukraine with a team of state-backed institutions and private businesses to agree on six reconstruction projects in the war-ravaged country.

Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Won Hee-ryong, speaks to the forum discussing ways to cooperate on the reconstruction of Ukraine in Kyiv on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong visited Ukraine with a team of state-backed institutions and private businesses to agree on six reconstruction projects encompassing transportation, airport and sewage treatment facilities in the war-ravaged country.

The Land Ministry said Friday that Won visited Kyiv on Wednesday and Thursday to participate in the reconstruction cooperation forum and also met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Some 18 state-run organizations and private businesses accompanied Won, including state-run Korea Land & Housing Corporation and Korea Railroad as well as Hyundai E&C, Hyundai Rotem, Naver and KT.

Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong, right. shakes hand with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during the Kyiv visit on Wednesday and Thursday. [YONHAP]

The delegation and Ukrainian government agreed on six projects to work together on, such as establishing a plan for smart transportation in Kyiv and a smart city for Uman. The projects also included the modernization of Boryspil International Airport and building a sewage system in Bucha.

KT stepped forward to help build communication network infrastructure in the country.

KT said it participated in a forum held in Kyiv on Thursday about the reconstruction project and suggested what’s called an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solution which helps manage energy efficiently.

“Ukraine’s electricity production has dropped by 50 percent compared to before the war broke out and KT’s AMI solution will be able to help resolve the electricity shortage problem,” KT said in a release.

KT also said it suggested at the forum deploying a Public Safety-LTE network which is exclusively for the government in order to swiftly come up with responsive measures in case of emergency situations without security concerns.

HD Hyundai said Friday it signed a partnership with the city government of Mykolaiv to provide five types of equipment from three of its construction equipment manufacturers.

Previously, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had pledged $300 million in short-term aid for Ukraine next year and another $2 billion in mid- to long-term support for the country’s war recovery at the G20 summit in New Dehli early this month.

The Korean government said it will provide short-term aid to Ukraine in 2024 in the form of grants, humanitarian aid and support through international financial institutions.

The $2 billion support package will be in the form of a long-term, low-interest concessional loan through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund from 2025.

Moon Sung-wuk, head of KT's global business unit, speaks at the forum discussing ways to cooperate on the reconstruction of Ukraine in Kyiv on Thursday. [KT]

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]