SEOUL– South Korea will hike its financial aid to developing countries by 21.3 percent this year, the Office for Government Policy Coordination said Thursday.
The government finalized a budget for official development assistance (ODA) at 4.77 trillion won (US$3.78 billion) in 2023, an increase of 838 billion won from last year, the office said in a statement.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who presided over a meeting that finalized the budget earlier in the day, said the rate of the annual increase was the biggest in 10 years.
“It contains a firm determination to become the world’s top 10 ODA country within the term of the Yoon Suk Yeol government,” Han said in the statement.
About 39 percent of the budget will be allocated for developing nations in Asia, while about 20 percent will go to African nations, the office said.
In particular, the government plans to expand its annual ODA budget for African nations to 1 trillion won by 2030, it said.
Currently, South Korea ranks 15th among the 29 member states of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, it said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency