[Exclusive] Giving Laptops to Developing Country Officials as ODA? ... 'Wasteful Management' Under Scrutiny

ODA Status Analysis [K Wonjo Tracker]⑦
Examining Budget Management Practices
Free Laptops Provided to Public Officials
Training Costs Increased During COVID-19

Purchase receipt for laptops provided to Vietnamese and Senegalese officials for ODA training conducted online during the COVID-19 period by the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Center. (Source: Office of Jeong Hee-yong, People Power Party, Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Center)

The Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Center under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries provided over 30 public officials from Vietnam and Senegal with laptops free of charge using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds during the COVID-19 period, resulting in higher training expenses for officials than before the pandemic. This is seen as a reflection of the lax management of ODA budgets.

According to requested data submitted on the 30th through the office of Jeong Hee-yong, a member of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee from the People Power Party, the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Center under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries supported a total of 45 new laptops to Vietnamese and Senegalese officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the need for equipment for cyber training.

First, from August 31 to October 7, 2020, the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Center held a "Senegal Online Fisheries Technology and Policy Instructor Training" for 15 fisheries officials from Senegal over six weeks. Under the pretext of providing equipment for online training, they purchased 15 Samsung Electronics Plus NT500XCJ laptops worth 1 million KRW each and sent them to Senegal. In the training conducted in 2021, they similarly purchased Lenovo 15-inch laptops and HP 15-inch laptops worth 10 million KRW and shipped them to the respective countries.

In the same year, for training conducted for 15 Vietnamese officials, they purchased and delivered 15 Samsung Electronics 2021 Galaxy Book laptops worth 1.5 million KRW each.

As a result, the budget for 2020 during the COVID-19 period increased compared to 2018 and 2019, when the “Developing Country Public Official Training Invitation” project, which required covering airfare and accommodation, was conducted.

The budget allocated in 2018 was 200 million KRW, with the first project inviting officials from Vietnam, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and Senegal to Korea for three weeks of training. The second project invited four officials from Kiribati to Korea for three months for fisheries-related education. All airfare, accommodation, and daily expenses were supported. The budget allocated in 2019 for inviting eight national officials to Korea for three weeks of training was 100 million KRW. However, the budget for the 2020 Senegal training conducted only through cyber lectures was 1.8962 billion KRW, an 89.62% increase compared to the previous year.

Similarly, the budget for cyber training in 2021 was a total of 300 million KRW (200 million KRW for Vietnam training, 100 million KRW for Senegal training), which also increased by 58.21% compared to the previous year.

Experts pointed out that providing laptops for ODA public official training projects for developing countries that last about a month is an example of budget waste. An international development expert who requested anonymity said, “Since each ministry likes to secure ODA budgets, there is a problem where they try to create any pretext to spend the budget to avoid unused funds,” adding, “Providing laptops under the pretext of training projects that last about three weeks can be seen as budget waste.”

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