Korea missed a financial assistance target for overseas development aid last year as its government sought to balance the budget because of a fragile economic outlook, data showed Tuesday.
Seoul has pledged to increase its overseas development aid to 0.25 percent of its gross national income by 2015 from the 2010 level of 0.12 percent. Under the pledge, the government aimed to spend 0.13 percent of its national income on overseas development assistance last year.
Government data showed that South Korea spent a total of $1.32 billion on both short-term humanitarian assistance and long-term development aid for foreign nations in 2011, accounting for 0.12 percent of its gross national income.
The ratio was far below an average 0.31 percent spent by members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last year, according to the data.
"To live up to our international pledge and increase our status, we must expand the spending for overseas development aid," said a foreign ministry official.
In 2009, Korea joined the official club of international donor nations, the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. Last month, the committee started its first review of Seoul's development cooperation policies and their implementation.
Korea hosted a global forum on aid effectiveness last November with some 3,500 high-ranking officials from about 160 donor and recipient nations in attendance. (Yonhap)