A survey, conducted by the Office for Government Policy Coordination last year, showed that 77.8% of Koreans agreed with the government’s provision of overseas development assistance (ODA) for developing countries. The photo shows Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Centre of Preah Ang Duong hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, newly built by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in 2022 as part of the agency’s ODA program. (KOICA)
By Lee Dasom
A survey showed that three out of four Korean nationals agree with the government’s provision of overseas development assistance (ODA) for developing countries.
This came from the survey announced on Jan. 22 on the recognition of ODA among 1,200 grownups and 500 teenagers conducted last year by the Office for International Development Cooperation under the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
In the survey, 83.8% of the answerers aged 19 or over said providing ODA for developing countries is important with 77.8% agreed to the government’s provision of offering ODA for such nations.
Among those who agreed, 60.1% said ODA is for helping such countries achieve economic and social development. Others said they back the assistance program because it helps the nation realize global values of the international community (38.7%) and it helps enhance the global image or diplomacy of the nation (36.5%).
On the budget size of ODA, 61.8% said the volume of budget needs to remain the current level while 19.4% said the budget needs to be expanded.
In the survey for teenagers aged between 16 and 18, which was conducted for the first time, 77.8% of the recipients agreed with the country’s provision of ODA for developing nations, showing the equal level of agreement with that of the adults.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination said in the news release, “Based on the result of the survey, we will boost the efficiency of ODA projects in the procedure of expanding international development cooperation as an aid donor country, while strengthening our efforts to raise awareness of the projects.”
The ODA budget of the nation this year is KRW 6.5 trillion, up 4.2% from that of the previous year.
dlektha0319@korea.kr
