□ A direction for the Global Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement), a project being pursued by the government of the Republic of Korea, has been set.

○ The Global Saemaul Undong will be implemented from next year in a systematic manner in accordance with the ROK government’s recipient-oriented strategies for rural development. The “Global Saemaul Leaders’ Convention” will also be held to share the ROK’s development experiences with the international community.

□ The Ministry of Security and Public Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the aforementioned plan at the “Forum on Strategies for Global Saemaul Undong” on October 28. It was attended by about 200 people, including Minister of Security and Public Administration Yoo Jeong-bok, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, officials from Saemaul Undong-related agencies, including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, as well as experts in related areas.

□ The Global Saemaul Undong will be conducted under a two-track system of an integrated project model and an individual project model, taking into account the needs of developing countries and the ROK government’s strategies.

□ The Global Saemaul Leaders’ Convention, to be held in April 2014, is expected to become a noticeable forum where Saemaul leaders around the world will share their up-to-date know-how gained from hands-on experiences.

○ The Convention will be attended by more than 1,500 people from the ROK and about 500 people from abroad, including community leaders and minister-level government officials from developing countries, ambassadors, officials from international organizations and world-renowned scholars in international development.

□ In the latest Forum on Strategies for Global Saemaul Undong, Foreign Minister Yun stressed that the Saemaul Undong can become the most effective aid which the ROK provides to the international community. The Minister also announced the ROK’s plans to devise strategies tailored to each country, taking advantage of the ROK’s diplomatic networks.

□ About 20 developing countries across the world asked the ROK to spread the Saemaul Undong to their country, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited the ROK in August, also promised to actively support the spread of the Saemaul Undong throughout the world. The latest Forum on Strategies is expected to help create a domestic consensus to develop the Saemaul Undong into a universal rural development project that contributes to poverty eradication in developing countries.

□ The agencies involved in the Global Saemaul Undong, including the Ministry of Security and Public Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will draw up a comprehensive plan for conducting the Global Saemaul Undong based on the results of the latest Forum on Strategies. After being passed by the Committee for International Development Cooperation of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the plan will be implemented more systematically and intensively starting next year. 


                     Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Security and Public Administration

*unofficial translation