1. Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun attended the “Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Innovation Day” event held in Seoul on January 29 under the slogan of “let’s change the world with new ideas.”

※ The purpose of the event hosted by KOICA, the Republic of Korea’s government agency with expertise in grant aid projects, was to proclaim “a vision regarding job creation and social values.” It brought together Minister of SMEs and Startups Hong Jong-haak, KOICA President Lee Mi-kyung, CEO of GS Global Corp Huh Se-hong, and representatives from a number of Korean companies taking part in development cooperation efforts.

2. In his congratulatory remarks, Vice Minister Cho stressed that development cooperation, which in the past, the public sector used to lead by conducting assistance operations for developing countries, should now be spearheaded by private companies and civil society in an inclusive and innovative way.

3. Vice Minister Cho added that the government will help pursue a new development cooperation paradigm, where companies’ business activities and social values are promoted together. By doing so, the government will seek to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the shared development goals of the international community; to the cultivation of relevant industries and ecosystem at home; and to the creation of jobs for the young.

* The SDGs are the shared development goals of the international community in the fields of economy, social affairs and environment, adopted by the UN in 2015. With the SDGs considered achievable only with resources and through expertise and innovation of the private sector, the private-public cooperation is growing in the international community.

4. With KOICA proclaiming its “vision regarding job creation and social values,” the government plans to seek more substantial progress in partnership among itself, enterprises and civil society in the field of development cooperation and to expand its international role with the support and participation of the public.

* unofficial translation