Bill Gates calls on Korea to chart course for gradual hike in development aid spending

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, attends a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

U.S. billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates suggested Thursday that Korea gradually increase its development aid spending, ideally to 0.5 percent of its economy in the coming years, with a greater focus on multilateral health initiatives.

Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, made the remark during his visit to Seoul, after meeting with Korean companies and government officials to discuss ongoing partnerships and collaboration in global health.

"(Korea's) ODA (official development assistance) spending is a bit less than 0.3 percent of GDP, and hopefully that will grow over time ... We've challenged the (Korean) government a little bit to go back and look at their ODA spending," Gates said during a press availability.

"This new government can take a fresh look at, in terms of getting to 0.7 percent, that's not a near-term aspiration ... Ideally there would be a concrete plan to get towards 0.5 (percent) over the next five years," he said.

Korea's ODA spending as a share of its economy stood at 0.21 percent in 2024, up from 0.17 percent the previous year.

Notably, Gates called for placing more focus on multilateral health platforms for contributions, such as GAVI and the Global Fund, citing the efficiency of their operations and what he described as "high-impact" ODA.

"Our proposal is that this government makes a new ODA strategy that the health multilaterals could grow to be as much as 15 percent of that, and draw Korea into a much stronger role in terms of governance and contributions," he said.

The Gates Foundation, founded in 2000, has been a major investor in global health initiatives, such as vaccine development, production and distribution to combat infectious diseases, as well as projects addressing poverty and climate change.

According to the foundation, its contributions to global health efforts have helped halve the mortality of children under age five, reducing it to 5 million. It has also invested over $400 million in Korean bioscience companies, primarily engaged in vaccine development and production.

Gates said the foundation is in the process of opening an office in Seoul.

Asked about the Donald Trump administration's cutbacks on global aid, Gates expressed optimism despite uncertainties, saying he has been in discussions with relevant U.S. officials, including Trump, on the best approach to U.S. foreign assistance.

"While some of the money was cut off, a lot of that money has been restored ... I'm hopeful that it won't be a significant cut," he said.

Gates said Korea's stronger commitment to ODA could help countries in need, just as Korea was helped by others and achieved dramatic growth over the past decades following the 1950-53 Korean War.

"Korea is unique in having gone from an (aid) recipient country to a donor. It would set a great example and encourage others at a fairly key time," he said.

"Korea should be very proud of the incredible economic success ... the progress towards being a very strong democracy. I wish every country in the world had made the transition that Korea has," Gates added.