International Development Cooperation Committee
Prime Minister Kim Minseok said on the 26th, "The government has been considering a fundamental innovation of the existing official development assistance (ODA) framework," adding, "We will disclose various information to the public, who have been closely watching the many issues related to ODA under the previous administration, so that projects can be carried out in a transparent manner."
Prime Minister Kim Minseok is speaking at the 56th International Development Cooperation Committee held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul on February 26, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News
Prime Minister Kim presided over the 56th International Development Cooperation Committee meeting at the Government Complex Seoul on this day and said, "That is the way to promote sustainable development cooperation based on the trust and support of the people." During the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, criticism arose that budget projects funded by the national budget had become targets of collusion between politics and religion, as seen in the sudden surge of Cambodia's ODA budget due to lobbying by the Unification Church. Because of this, the ODA budget, which accounts for most of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' budget, was drastically reduced under the new government.
Prime Minister Kim said, "While realizing the intrinsic value of development cooperation, we must also move in a mutually beneficial direction in which both our partner countries and we can develop together," adding, "Domestically as well, qualitative enhancement commensurate with the scale of ODA is required." He went on to say, "We will implement innovation through selection and concentration, improved performance, and the integration of new implementation methods and sectors," adding, "We will also expand into new areas such as AI (artificial intelligence) and culture."
At the meeting, the government announced the Fourth Mid- to Long-term Strategy for International Development Cooperation, the national strategy for the ODA sector that is established every five years. It sets out the vision of "K-ODA that realizes universal values and mutual prosperity based on innovation and performance," and includes four key strategic goals: realizing inclusive values, expanding reciprocal mutual prosperity, implementing innovative development, and building an integrated system.
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