Bill Gates calls on Korea to chart course for gradual hike in development aid spending

U.S. billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates suggested Thursday that Korea gradually increase its development aid spending, ideally to 0.5 percent of its economy in the coming years, with a greater focus on multilateral health initiatives. Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, made the remark during his visit to Seoul, after meeting with Korean companies and government officials to discuss ongoing partnerships and collaboration in global health. "(Korea's) ODA (official development assistance) spending is a bit less than 0.3 percent of GDP, and hopefully that will grow over time ... We've challenged the (Korean) government a little bit to go back and look at their ODA spending," Gates said during a press availability. "This new government can take a fresh look at, in terms of getting to 0.7 percent, that's not a near-term aspiration ... Ideally there would be a concrete plan to get towards 0.5 (percent) over the next five years," he said. Korea's ODA spending as a share of its economy stood at 0.21 percent in 2024, up from 0.17 percent the previous year. Notably, Gates called for placing moWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times