Korea to Contribute 50 Million Dollars to Ukraine Support Special Fund

Deputy Prime Minister Choi Attends WB Development Committee
Meets with WB and IMF Presidents, Ukrainian Minister, and S&P

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok is shaking hands and greeting Serhiy Marchenko, Ukraine's Minister of Finance, ahead of their meeting at the World Bank (WB) on the 19th (local time).

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, signed a basic agreement for the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (EDCF) worth 2.1 billion USD (2.8595 trillion KRW) with Ukraine. He also expressed his intention to contribute 50 million USD (approximately 68.9 billion KRW) to the World Bank's (WB) Special Ukraine Recovery Fund (SPUR) to support Ukraine's reconstruction.

On the 19th (local time), Deputy Prime Minister Choi met with Sergii Marchenko, Ukraine's Minister of Finance, in Washington D.C., USA, while attending the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. They held a signing ceremony for the EDCF basic agreement and discussed future economic cooperation measures for Ukraine's reconstruction. This is a follow-up procedure to the 2.3 billion USD Ukraine support package announced by President Yoon Seok-yeol during the G20 Summit last September.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi stated, "With the conclusion of this EDCF basic agreement, we have established a legal foundation for medium- to long-term concessional aid support worth 2.1 billion USD, and we will jointly discover EDCF projects that can greatly contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction and development." In this process, he requested the Ukrainian government’s strong interest so that Korean companies, which have rich development experience and strong competitiveness, can actively participate in Ukraine's reconstruction and development.

On the 18th (local time), he also delivered a letter of intent to contribute 50 million USD to the Special Ukraine Recovery Fund (SPUR) during a meeting with Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank. President Banga expressed expectations for Korea's active role in Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction process. Deputy Prime Minister Choi and President Banga agreed to closely cooperate to expand concessional loan support between the EDCF and the World Bank, recognizing that this cooperation contributes to securing funds for the World Bank’s medium- to long-term development plan implementation.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi also met with Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, Global Head of Sovereign Ratings at the global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P), to explain recent trends in the Korean economy. He emphasized key economic policy directions such as price stabilization, recovery of people’s livelihoods, and a dynamic economy. He also explained that tasks such as corporate value enhancement, fiscal soundness, and structural reforms will be pursued consistently. S&P responded that "this will be helpful in future evaluations of the Korean economy."