S. Korea to expand role in int'l development aid: vice minister

By Tony Chang

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is committed to increasing its contribution to international efforts to provide development resources and know-how to developing countries, a senior government official said Wednesday.

"The Korean government will assume an active role in this new international
development environment as a responsible member of the international society,"
Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo told an international conference on official
development assistance (ODA) in Seoul.
Shin said that Seoul plans to "continue to increase the volume of its ODA to up
to 0.25 percent of its gross national income by 2015," the deadline to achieve
the Millennium Development Goals set by the U.N.
South Korea, once a recipient of ODA, has recently applied for membership in the
OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The committee will decide whether to
accept Seoul's request in a meeting on Nov. 25. The committee has 23 members,
including the European Commission, and is the only OECD committee of which South
Korea is not yet a member.
The vice minster said South Korea is prepared to make its "due contributions in
development cooperation" as a full member of the committee.
Shin also promised that South Korea will "exert full efforts" to share with
developing countries its past experience in rapid economic growth and
democratization.
"As a country with the experience of being an ODA recipient, we will share our
experiences in effective aid utilization, capacity and institutional development,
and effective governance," he said.
South Korea received a total of US$12.7 billion from other nations in ODA until
1999, struggling in the early years to rise from the aftermath of the 1950-53
Korean War.
Seoul transformed itself into a benefactor in 2000. In May, the government
finalized a plan to increase its assistance to developing countries worldwide by
16.4 percent from 2008 to US$842 million this year.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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