11/08/2010
Aid or Development? ODA – Lessons learned and challenges for Korea
The 5th Jeju Peace Institute-Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty joint workshop successfully took place at Jeju Peace Institute, Jeju Island, from October 18 to 20. The workshop entitled “Aid or Development?: ODA – lessons learned and challenges for Korea, offered participating experts the timely opportunity to shed light on the still on-going debates on aid-development relationship and to analyze the achievements and failures of foreign assistance policies and practices. After the two-day intensive workshop, the participants came up with the recommendations for Korea’s effective foreign assistance policy.
The Korean “miracle” in economic and political development has drawn admiration and strong interest from developing countries around the world. In 2009, South Korea joined the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). In 2010 it will organize the G20 Summit, and in 2011, the nation will host the OECD High-Level Forum for Aid Effectiveness. Domestically, the Korean government has also started to enhance its institutional framework for providing Official Development Assistance (ODA). This includes: the introduction of the International Development Cooperation Basic Law (enacted in January 2010, made effective in June 2010). The Basic Law stipulates the fundamental ideals, objectives and principles of Korea’s ODA: (i) poverty reduction, (ii) gender equality, (iii) sustainable development and humanism; (iv) promotion of economic cooperation; and (v) peace and prosperity of international society. Although Korean ODA is still small in absolute volume, as this Law stipulates, South Korea has expressed its strong commitment to the international community to become a bridge between developing countries and developed countries to share its relatively recent developing experiences.
We think that at this important juncture, it is important to extract key lessons learned from Korean development and suggest the role for Korea to play in the international community. Although Korea’s successful experiences are relatively recent, we must be mindful that its specific development models pursued in the 1960s and 1970s cannot be exactly copied by today’s developing countries—especially since the dramatic change on the global economic and political environment after the Cold War. Nevertheless, we firmly believe that there are several important relevant factors that drove the Korean miracle—strong political commitment, domestic “ownership” of the development strategy, and shared motivation to nation building and development. Also, Korea’s efforts and achievements in institutional building, ranging from the state, government, private sector and community-levels, offers useful, concrete, and pragmatic experiences.
Based on this recognition, the participants of the workshop organized by the Jeju Peace Institute and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty would like to provide the following recommendations.
Democratization and Institution Building
Efforts at improving the quality of institutions and the democratization of society should go along with the economic development of the recipient country. Joint assessment of needs should be formulated between recipient and donors. Particularly effective mechanisms to fight corruption should be developed.
In institution building a realistic and pragmatic approach is essential. Even if institutional deficits are visible, it might be necessary to start with existing systems and set realistic goals for their improvement. A continuing update of goals has to be secured to improve the accountability of the recipient country.
Education
We firmly believe that Korea could make valuable contributions, through knowledge sharing and stimulate the motivation of developing countries and their institutional learning process.
As recent Korean history has shown, people are the most important resource in development. A full human mind is the ultimate capital; ideas are the driving force of progress. In this perspective ODA should be focused on liberating human resources. This means first of all investing in education. In doing so, priority should be given to basic and vocational education, without neglecting higher and in particular technical education. Moreover the needs of the respective countries and regions should be explored in detail to be able to structure investments in education accordingly.
Inclusive stakeholder participation
To facilitate ownership of projects supported/funded by South Korea, it is important to involve civil society in the formulation of project proposals, in setting targets, and in monitoring and evaluating project implementation. This can be achieved through strengthening national statistical systems, supporting research institutes, doing research-based policy advocacy, and supporting organized groups such as business associations and labor organization.
Supporting stable and equitable markets
Korea’s development assistance policy should encourage of domestic companies to make foreign direct investments in developing country partners, bringing in technology as well as capital. Another broad aspect of development assistance is to open South Korean markets to its developing country partners’ exports. Korea should also work within international forums to expand market access for developing countries and to examine the implications of international labor migration.
A “global financial safety net” is important to help guarantee developing country partners’ financial stability and facilitate their development. Aid efforts should also focus on high-potential, income-generating small and medium industries (which industries will depend on the comparative advantages of the particular partner).
The provision of the “right” mix of grants and loans is important to support humanitarian needs, and the development of partner countries’ social and economic infrastructure. The Korean experience shows that loans can also be useful to enhance the credibility of a borrowing country and ensure its commitment to and ownership of the purposes for which the funds are borrowed.
Participating speakers and moderators were Prof. Dr. Thomas KALINOWSKI (Ewha Womans University), Prof. Dr. Arthur GOLDSMITH (University of Massachusetts Boston), Ms. JUNG Woojin (Korea International Cooperation Agency), Mr. James SHIKWATI (Inter Region Economic Network in Kenya), Dr. Falk BOMSDORF (Former FNF Director to Russia), Prof. OHNO Izumi(National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Japan), and Dr. AHN Eungho from Korea Export and Import Bank, Dr. YOO Jay Kun (WorldVision Korea) and Dr. Carolina G. Hernandez(Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Inc., Philippines).
Among the distinguished participants were also Mr. RHEE Byung-kook, Vice President, Korea International Cooperation Agency and Mr. Manfred RICHTER, Treasurer of the Board of Directors, FNF & Former Chief Whip of the FDP Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag, who respectively delivered keynote speech and congratulatory speech, as well as Dr. Rainer Adam, Regional director of FNF Southeast and East Asia.
