UN Security Council Activities, Expansion of Humanitarian Aid ODA Budget
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its budget proposal for next year (4.2895 trillion KRW). In line with the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's core diplomatic strategy to strengthen its status as a ‘global pivotal state,’ the budget for contributions to international organizations and official development assistance (ODA) has been significantly increased.
On the 29th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the budget proposal for submission to the National Assembly containing these details. First, the contribution to international organizations to support activities as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, whose term begins next year, was set at 817.9 billion KRW, a 23.5% increase from this year. Through its Security Council activities, the ministry plans to lead a norm-based international order founded on universal values such as freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
To enhance its role and status as a leading democracy and to strengthen the Korea-US global comprehensive strategic alliance, a new budget of 4.6 billion KRW was allocated for the upcoming 3rd Democracy Summit.
The budget for official development assistance (ODA) for humanitarian aid was also greatly increased. A total of 740.1 billion KRW was allocated to support innovation and development in developing countries and to respond to humanitarian crises such as the war in Ukraine and large-scale disasters. This amount is 2.5 times larger than this year’s budget of 299.3 billion KRW. The plan is to use this budget to solidify Korea’s status as a global pivotal state and contribute to realizing mutual national interests and humanitarian values.
Additionally, a new budget of 34.7 billion KRW was allocated to host the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit and prepare for Korea’s chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2025. Aid to African countries was set at 307.3 billion KRW, an increase of 68.8 billion KRW from this year’s 238.5 billion KRW.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “To actively respond to an increasingly uncertain and competitive diplomatic environment, we will continue traditional security diplomacy while strengthening our capacity to address emerging economic security issues and lead discussions on establishing international norms in new fields such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology.”
Accordingly, the budget for next year includes 2 billion KRW for responding to major countries’ economic trends, 3.1 billion KRW for hosting the 2nd High-Level Meeting on the Military Use of Artificial Intelligence (REAIM), and 3.5 billion KRW for the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting on the UN Plastic Treaty (INC-5). To meet the rapidly increasing demand, 141 billion KRW will be used to establish conditions for timely passport issuance, and 1.2 billion KRW will be allocated to enhance travel advisory mapping.
Going forward, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to make every effort to ensure the smooth progress of the 2024 budget proposal through the National Assembly review process.
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