S. Korea to increase overseas development aid next year

From Yonhap News Agency: S. Korea to increase overseas development aid next year
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government said Monday that it will increase next year's budget for aid projects for developing countries by 12 percent as part of efforts to return what it had received from the international community to rebuild its war-torn economy decades ago.

A total of 1.9 trillion won (US$1.64 billion), or 0.15 percent of the country's gross national income, will be earmarked next year for the country's official development aid (ODA), according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

It is up from this year's 1.7 trillion won, or 0.13 percent of the country's total income.

The move is part of the country's efforts to double its international development aid to about US$3 billion by 2015 to give back after receiving help from the international community. With the help of international aid, the country has risen from the rubble of the 1950-53 Korean War to become a vibrant democracy within the ranks of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

While the ODA is designed to help underdeveloped countries across the world establish economic and industrial infrastructure, Seoul's assistance next year will be funneled mainly into the education, health, and green growth, the PMO added.

"To raise effectiveness of the country's aid with increased funds, the government needs to devise customized projects for each recipient while boosting cooperation among relevant departments," Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said.

"We also need to devise follow-up measures to put 'the Busan Declaration' into practice," he added, citing the fourth high-level forum on aid effectiveness held in the South Korean port city early this month, where policymakers from about 160 countries agreed to establish a new worldwide partnership to seek better ways to spend annual development aid.