By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
Korea will seek to increase its stake in international financial organizations to match its economic power, the finance minister said.
Strategy and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun reported the plan to President Lee Myung-bak at the presidential committee for Brand Korea, Friday, according to the ministry.
"Korea is chairman of the G20 Summit next year, and its impact on international issues has increased. Hence, we should enforce our status participating in international financial organizations more aggressively," the ministry said in a press release.
Korea's GDP takes 1.95 percent of the global total, but its average share in the international financial organizations is 1.48 percent. Korea has a 1.35 percent IMF stake, and occupies only 1.01 percent in the World Bank. The nation will increase it to the GDP level by April 2010 for the World Bank, and by January 2011 for the IMF.
The country has less than one percent of the organization's total staff, with only 0.7 percent coming from Korea.
The government also will support young Koreans applying for jobs in organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank.
The ministry will hold regular career presentations for those organizations as well as launching information centers for Korean students and job seekers.
The government decision was welcomed, as it may increase Korea's voice on the international stage.
"We may have a louder voice within the organizations. We can get one step closer in shaping the direction of the world economy," Jo Dong-joon, professor of international relations at University of Seoul, told The Korea Times.
Jo said international institutions could get closer to Korea when they come to have more Koreans on their staff.
"We can improve our international circumstances by sending more Koreans to the organizations."
The ministry will also run a program called Junior Professional Officer, which will hire professionals who worked at international organizations to guarantee their job security after completing work overseas.
In addition, Korea will gear up its efforts to help underdeveloped countries. Korea will increase its Official Development Assistance ratio compared to its Gross National Income from 0.09 to 0.25 percent by 2015. The nation will also take part in programs for supporting low-income countries.