Foreign assistance faces unilateral abolition



In the space of a few decades, Korea has turned from a recipient of foreign aid to a donor nation. Unfortunately, the rags-to-riches transformation comes with one side effect _ a short memory. As if it has forgotten its days of paucity, Korea is pushing to abolish aid without consulting the recipients.



The foreign ministry and its arm for providing foreign aid, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), recently reported a major overhaul of its official development assistance (ODA) to President Moon Jae-in's transition committee.



The aim is to abolish or change all ODA programs under the name "Saemaul Undong" or New Village Movement, a movement to improve the livelihoods of rural villages. Park Chung-hee, the dictator and father of disgraced former President Park Geun-hye, led the movement.



True, the program is tainted with a hint of corruption, with the previous KOICA head stepping down after he enlisted the influence of Choi Soon-sil, Park's alleged partner in corruption, to get the job.



But with the ministry pushing to abolish the ODA programs, it is hard not to conclude the ministry is blindly currying favor with the new administration.



More importantly, the ministry did not even give recipient countries any hint of changes in the offing. KOICA refused to reveal the size of the programs and how many countries are receiving Saemaul-branded ODA, but the ministry said the recipients were in Africa and Asia, with 62 billion won ($55.4 million) earmarked for 2017.



"We are carrying out a major shakeup of all Saemaul programs with some to be abolished and others revamped," a ministry official said. He admitted recipients had received no warning.



One African ambassador told The Korea Times, "It comes out of the blue. We (African ambassadors) were not informed individually or in group." He said thankfully his country was not a major recipient of Korean ODA programs but added that the big recipients would be upset when the programs were "unilaterally changed or obviated."



Saemaul ODA programs are part of an experience and knowledge sharing initiative that is quite popular in Africa. Last year, President Park went on an African tour to participate in the opening of a Saemaul training center in a ceremony attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. There have been many visiting programs, such as one involving agricultural leaders from 43 countries, hosted by Gumi, Park Ching-hee's hometown and the birthplace of the movement.



New governments are obligated to realign the previous ones' order of business. But overseas programs should be dealt with subtly to prevent any harm to the partner countries. If this is not done, Korea's reputation will suffer.



