Korea-Ukraine Reconstruction Cooperation: "Actively Utilizing Postwar Reconstruction Experience"

On the 1st (local time), the resort area of Serhiivka in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa was reduced to ruins by a missile strike from the Russian military. The missile was launched from a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea, and the bombing killed at least 17 people and injured dozens.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 6th that Minister Won Hee-ryong met with two Ukrainian lawmakers, Sergiy Taruta and Andrii Nikolaienko, as well as Dmytro Ponomarenko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Korea, to discuss cooperation plans for reconstruction projects in cities like Mariupol, which have lost urban functions due to the war.

Prior to the meeting, the government dispatched a delegation consisting of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director of Overseas Construction Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference held in Lugano, Switzerland, from the 4th for two days, expressing the Korean government's willingness to participate in Ukraine's reconstruction projects.

Accordingly, it is expected that Korean companies' participation in the post-war Ukraine reconstruction projects, valued at $750 billion and announced by Ukraine at the Lugano conference in Switzerland, will expand.

Serhiy Taruta, who visited Korea for this meeting, stated, "Due to the Russian invasion, 12,000 houses in Mariupol city were completely destroyed, and 95% of the infrastructure was damaged, making the construction of a new city after the war urgently necessary." He proposed that the Korean government and companies leverage their experience in post-war recovery and new town development to take charge of rebuilding Mariupol city as a new standard.

Minister Won Hee-ryong said, "We empathize with the pain and suffering the Ukrainian people are experiencing due to the war," and added, "The Korean government will actively work with the Ukrainian government for the reconstruction of Mariupol city and other areas in Ukraine." He emphasized, "Korea, as a country that has successfully rebuilt in a short period with international support after the devastation of war, will actively utilize this experience for Ukraine's reconstruction."

After the meeting, Minister Won instructed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to establish a close cooperation system among the industry, KIND, and other public enterprises based on the ongoing experience of reconstruction projects in Iraq, to take a leading role in Ukraine's reconstruction projects.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to form a 'Ukraine Reconstruction Council' in July, consisting of the government, public enterprises, and industry, and to build a cooperative network with the Ukrainian government to focus on reconstruction projects.