Contributions to world ‘overlapping’
South Korea needs to create a body that coordinates contributions and donations to international organizations, Rep. Kim Kyung-hyup of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Sunday.
Rep. Kim said there were overlapping and excessive contributions by government agencies to the United Nations and other international organizations because there was no body in charge of planning and coordinating overall strategy.
For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) gave about 2.1 billion won ($1.85 million) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this year for the “peaceful transition of atomic power.” The Ministry of Science and ICT handed over 300 million won, also to the IAEA, for the “peaceful use of atomic power” the same year.
Rep. Kim pointed out that the government had not formed any coordinating body to use the money efficiently. Each government office was competitively increasing its financial contribution to international organizations in order to provide more global experience to its staff, he said.
To deter ministries’ “egotism,” the government should draw up a strategy on how to distribute the money based on national priorities, Kim added.
According to Kim, the foreign ministry convened a pan-governmental meeting in April for the first time, to figure out how the contributions were spent. Even though the foreign ministry recognized the need to hold the meetings regularly, the system has not been made permanent yet.
Some countries like Japan act in their national interests by boycotting contributions. Tokyo has reportedly put pressure on UNESCO by threat- ening to stop contributions, which has stalled a move to have Korea’s war-time “comfort women” listed on the agency’s Memory of the World Register.
To make its voice heard amid such diplomatic “games,” South Korea must control its total contribution to UNESCO, Kim said. As of 2017, six government bodies — MOFA; the Strategy and Finance; Culture, Sports and Tourism; of Education; and Land, Infrastructure and Transport ministries; and the Cultural Heritage Administration — gave 18.5 billion won in contributions.
If MOFA were fully aware of the nation’s total contribution, it could have greater bargaining power, he said.
Such overlaps happen in other UN organizations as well. For three years from 2015, 12 government ministries and offices have contributed to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).
In 2017, the science ministry paid 100 million won and 40 million won respectively for two similar projects — the “mission for science technology cooperation” and “cooperation in science and technology.” Separately, MOFA paid 458 million won for a project named “cooperation for science technology and creative economy.”
Because of the overlapping contributions, total contributions have grown by 9.9 percent from 2015 to 2017. The trend was more obvious if the amounts excluded the foreign ministry — 20.6 percent — according to Kim.
“The government’s contribution to international organizations looks like a bull in a china shop,” he said. “A thorough review is urgent to ensure that more than 700 billion won of annual contributions are in line with the government’s diplomatic strategy.”