Policy Updates

On June 19, 2024, the South Korean MOHW announced the plan to establish a committee for international development cooperation to systematically implement ODA projects.

The MOHW aims to create a foundation for the systematic implementation of ODA projects. The announcement noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the importance of international cooperation in healthcare. The MOHW’s ODA budget has been steadily increasing.

Healthcare ODA as a share of total OECD DAC member states‘ ODA was 6% in 2018 and grew to 12.7% in 2021. From 2019 to 2024, the growth rate of MOHW’s ODA budget was 59.8%, or 109.3% when including the ODA budget for the KDCA.

On June 19, 2024, a policy discussion at the South Korean National Assembly, attended by experts on health ODA and former MOFA Minister Jin Park, discussed the major achievements and future policy directions of South Korea’s global health ODA projects.

The discussion emphasized the importance of international cooperation in achieving the UN SDGs as well as concerns about the decrease in the health ODA budget for infectious disease response, including the South Korean government’s recent announcement to abolish the GDEF.

Since its establishment in 2017, the GDEF has played an important role in developing vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases by supporting global health organizations such as CEPI, Unitaid, Gavi, and GFTAM. In particular, CEPI has invested in Korean biotech companies and universities to develop a domestic COVID-19 vaccine. However, the South Korean government decided to abolish the departure tax, the main source of funding for the GDEF in late 2024. There is no plan to fill the funding gap, which will result in the termination of funding for global health ODA projects funded by the GDEF.

The ministers urged that regardless of the abolition of the GDEF, it is urgent to secure funding for global health ODA projects. They also noted that Basic Strategy for Health ODA was scheduled to be released in 2022, but the delay has increased the uncertainty of the South Korean government’s global health ODA program.

In response to these international demands, the South Korean government was advised to closely coordinate its policy direction on global health ODA and strengthen its support and cooperation with international organizations. This will allow South Korea to expand its influence in the international community and establish itself as a global pivotal state.

On June 11, 2024, South Korean 2^nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Insun Kang attended the MDCP for Ukraine‘s first annual ministerial meeting as well as the 3^rd Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Kang noted that, as a new member of the MDCP, South Korea will continue to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction with active coordination with major donors and international organizations.

As part of the Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative, announced at the Korea-Ukraine Summit in July 2023, South Korea has provided US$200 million in humanitarian assistance in 2024, US$100 million in support through multilateral financial institutions, US$100 million though KOICA, and US$2.1 billion through the EDCF for 2024-2029.

Kang emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships for Ukraine’s effective reconstruction and recovery and expressed South Korea's unwavering willingness to support Ukraine.

On June 5, 2024, the South Korean MAFRA and the RDA hosted the 2024 Korea-Africa Agricultural Conference as an official side event of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit, held from June 4-5, 2024.

MAFRA Minister Miryung Song expressed her high expectations for Korea’s agricultural cooperation projects including the K-Rice Belt, smart farms, and agricultural processing in her welcoming remarks.

At the opening ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was signed between South Korea and Madagascar, Malawi, Angola, and Zimbabwe to expand participating countries in the K-Rice Belt. K-Rice Belt, launched in 2023, is an ODA program that creates rice seed production complexes in African countries suffering from rice production shortages to produce high-yielding rice seeds and distribute them to farmers.

MAFRA has set a goal of producing 10,000 tons of rice seeds per year by 2027 to feed 30 million people on the African continent. Song highlighted MAFRA's ambitions to bolster agricultural cooperation between South Korea and African countries.

On June 4, 2024, South Korean President Suk Yeol Yoon announced to increase South Korea’s ODA to US$10 billion by 2030 as a catalyst for projects for cooperation with Africa at the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit.

The increase is double the level of South Korea's 2024 ODA budget. At the Korea-Africa Summit, a joint declaration was adopted to support e-government in Africa and proactively promote the KSP for Africa’s economic development and digital-based trade.

The joint declaration presented three priority areas:

• Shared growth: expand ODA up to US$10 billion by 2030, provide US$14 billion in export financing to Korean companies, and share the lessons learned from the experience of concluding free trade agreements;
• Sustainability: strengthen international cooperation to create a climate finance architecture responsive to Africa’s needs, advance cooperation for food security and sustainable agriculture, and establish primary healthcare infrastructure and leadership for critical mineral reserves; and
• Solidarity: support counterterrorism efforts and continue efforts in providing humanitarian assistance, achieve irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and cultivate talented human resources through education and training.

On June 5, 2024, KOICA hosted the Korea-Africa Future Partnership Conference: Development Cooperation for Empowering Future Generations, funded by the MOFA as a side event of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit from June 4-5, 2024.

The conference introduced the Korean government’s development cooperation strategy with Africa and KOICA’s major achievements. Attendees discussed ways to develop the African partners and empower future generations.

South Korean 2^nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Insun Kang highlighted the Tech4Africa initiative, announced at the summit, to strengthen the capabilities of future generations to utilize science and ICT technologies to lead digital innovation and to support the revitalization of Africa’s digital economy.

South Korean Deputy Director General of Development Cooperation Kyoo Ho Lee introduced details of the initiative in the areas of universal digital education, vocational training, and job opportunities. KOICA also held 18 bilateral meetings between African presidents and ministers and signed a memorandum of understanding with the EAPD to expand cooperation with African countries in the field of international development cooperation.

On May 27, 2024, South Korea announced its plan to provide humanitarian assistance of US$26 million to Syria and neighboring countries at the 8^th Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region.

South Korean Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Ki-hwan Kwon expressed concern about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Syria, which has been ongoing for more than 13 years. He emphasized the importance of a political resolution of the situation by UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

On May 27, 2024, South Korean Minister of Health and Welfare Kyu-hong Cho and the government delegation attended the 77^th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

It was the first time since 2019 that the Minister of Health and Welfare served as the chief delegate. In his keynote speech, Cho supported the adoption of the 14^th General Work Programme and highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring health for all. He introduced South Korea's efforts in international cooperation, including the operation of the Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub to strengthen the capacity of low- and middle-income countries to produce vaccines and treatments, and the World Bio Summit, which will be held in November 2024.

Cho held bilateral meetings with the WHO Director General and key member states including Japan, Australia, and Indonesia. In addition, a memorandum of understanding is slated to be signed with Singapore’s Interim Infectious Disease Control Authority and CEPI to expand cooperation on global infectious disease preparedness and response.

On May 27, 2024, South Korean Special Representative for Indo-Pacific Keeyong Chung attended the 4^th International Conference on SIDS in Antigua and Barbuda.

The conference is organized by the UN Secretariat to discuss issues related to the development of small island developing states. It is held every 10 years, beginning with the 1994 Barbados Conference.

Chung introduced South Korea's expansion of ODA to fulfill its role as a responsible member of the international community. He promoted customized support to SIDS to overcome structural vulnerabilities and improve resilience, reflecting the needs of each region, including Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean.

Chung also emphasized the need to diversify development finances and increase climate resilience to revitalize the economies of SIDS. The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States was adopted at the conference to fulfill common goals in support of SIDS over 10 years.

On May 21, 2024, the OECD DAC published its peer review of South Korea’s development cooperation, highlighting good achievements and recommending improvements and lauded South Korea's scaling-up of its ODA budget to fulfill responsibilities in the international community as a global pivotal state.

The review also reported ten recommendations for South Korea’s development strategy, which included:

• Policy Coherence: implement Framework Act on Sustainable Development to leverage the function of the CIDC to bring a development perspective to interagency policy deliberations;
• Partnership: strengthen strategic partnerships and dialogue channels with MDBs, multilateral organizations, and bilateral donors that go beyond project-based cooperation;
• Climate Change: ensure that all implementing agencies integrate climate perspectives into development cooperation projects based on green ODA strategy;
• Evaluation: utilize evaluation results and lessons learned from multiple evaluations including institutional capacity diagnostics to allocate scaled-up resources;
• Civil Society: extend the reach of its work by empowering and encouraging domestic civil society to effectively implement its projects; and
• Private Finances: expand private sector participation in projects and mobilize private financing as well as expand untied aid including budgetary support for cofinancing with MDBs.