The Republic of Korea will increase military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2023, Korean President Yoon Seok-yol said at a briefing after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday in Kiev.
“Last year we provided both body armor, helmets and other necessary ammunition. We hope that this year the level of our assistance will be much higher,” he said.
According to the President, “in May, President Zelensky and I agreed to supply the necessary equipment for such purposes as, for example, humanitarian demining, and we continue to do so. The government of the Republic of Korea allocated last year 100 million dollars in support of Ukraine. This year, that support will amount to 150 million dollars.”
“We also plan to increase aid to Ukraine to rebuild the education system. Last year…we decided to help rebuild destroyed schools. Also, we would like to provide Ukraine with support for future generations through the two presidents’ scholarship,” Yoon Seok Yol said.
According to him, “the situation in Ukraine now is similar to the situation in Korea 70 years ago.” “About 70 years ago, the Republic of Korea was also illegally invaded by North Korea. About 90% of our Korean territory was occupied and we faced the threat of extinction as a state. However, thanks to our military and civilians who helped them as much as possible, we were able to stop the occupier and kick them out of our land,” the president said.
“We have familiarized ourselves with the Formula for Peace that was provided to us and we do believe that it needs to be implemented. Especially since Korea is trying to play a mediating role in peace summits and meetings of countries belonging to the so-called Global South,” the Korean president also said.
