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| President Yoon Suk Yeol and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, attend a session at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, May 21. Seoul said Wednesday that the size of its financial commitment to help Ukraine's reconstruction efforts was exaggerated by Kyiv. EPA-Yonhap |
Kyiv withdraws claim that fund from Seoul could reach $8 bil. after complaint
By Jung Min-ho
Seoul said Wednesday that the size of its financial commitment to help Ukraine's reconstruction efforts was exaggerated by Kyiv.
Speaking to The Korea Times, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ukraine's claim that Korea's additional financial support could reach $8 billion by 2024 was simply not true.
"Our ministry is considering providing Ukraine with nonlethal equipment such as portable X-ray devices and mine clearing equipment within the limit of $30 million this year, while an additional $100 million loan from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) is under the review of the finance ministry. No other plans have been announced or considered," an official said.
The official "correction" followed a statement from Ukraine's First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who claimed that Korea's financial commitment to her country would be far greater than announced.
In the statement following her visit to Seoul with Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska last week, Svyrydenko said, "The possibility of receiving the first tranche of up to $300 million from the EDCF will appear in 2023 within 3-4 months from the signing of the second stage of the agreement, which is expected in a month from today's extraordinarily important event. The next tranche of up to $3 billion will become available in 2024, with the limit gradually increasing to $8 billion as the pipeline of projects is filled."
After the Korean government's complaint, Kyiv removed the latter part that claimed that there would be billions of dollars of support from its official website. Yet there is still a considerable gap between the total of $130 million Korea said it would offer and the $300 million Kyiv apparently expects to receive.
Officials at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said they asked the Ukrainian government to correct the $300 million part. As of Wednesday afternoon, that request was not met.
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| Ukrainian soldiers pass by residential buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in Bakhmut, Ukraine, Nov. 10, 2022. AP-Yonhap |
The discrepancy is drawing attention from the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which has been less enthusiastic than the Yoon administration about helping Ukraine against Russian aggression out of concerns revolving around the possibility of undermining Korea's national interests by offending Moscow too much.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Korea provided Ukraine with financial support amounting to about $100 million last year.
Speaking to The Korea Economic Daily, which first reported the issue, Rep. Oh Gi-hyoung of the DPK said it would be a serious problem if the government pushed for an aid package of billions of dollars without the National Assembly's approval. "Even if the announcement by Ukraine is not true, it still is a problem that the (Korean) administration did nothing over the issue for more than a week," he said.
In his first face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Hiroshima, Japan, Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol underscored Korea's dedication to the international order, which is founded on freedom and cooperation and assured the country of its continued support.
The summit came days after Yoon met with the Ukrainian first lady in Seoul, where he pledged the same.
Although smaller than the Ukrainian government wishes it to be, Korea's aid may expand as Yoon tries to align himself with the leaders of the West in their collective endeavor. Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong said his ministry would consider joining other countries in the recovery project for the war-hit country on Tuesday (local time) in Warsaw, where he met with Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Development Oleksandra Azarkhina.
