South Korea’s commitment to international aid saw a slight contraction in 2025, with its official development assistance (ODA) totaling $3.87 billion. This represented a 3.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year, primarily attributed to a challenging global exchange rate environment and a reduction in multilateral aid contributions, according to government reports released on Friday.
Preliminary data released by the Office for Government Policy Coordination, based on insights from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC), detailed South Korea’s ODA composition. In 2025, bilateral aid, which directly supports partner countries, accounted for a substantial $3.21 billion, while multilateral aid, channeled through international organizations, stood at $660 million.
Despite an encouraging on-year increase of $22 million in bilateral aid, particularly boosting sectors like health, transportation, and logistics, multilateral development funding experienced a significant 21.1 percent reduction. This decline in multilateral contributions was largely influenced by a base effect following temporarily elevated assistance provided to Ukraine in the preceding year.
Globally, South Korea maintained its position as a significant donor, holding steady at 13th place among the 33 member states of the DAC in terms of total ODA volume, as confirmed in the official press release.
When viewed as a proportion of its gross national income (GNI), South Korea’s aid level stood at 0.20 percent, a figure consistent with the 0.21 percent recorded in the previous year, highlighting sustained proportional commitment.
Furthermore, the government office emphasized that South Korea’s modest 3.9 percent decrease in ODA was less pronounced when compared to trends observed among other major donor nations, including the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, indicating relative stability in its overall international aid efforts.
