Abstract

Although S outh K orea is one of the newest members to join the O rganisation for E conomic C o‐operation and D evelopment's D evelopment A ssistance C ommittee in 2010, it has a long history of official development assistance ( ODA ), first as a recipient of aid (1945–1995) and later as an emerging donor (with the establishment of aid‐implementing agencies for concessional loans in 1987, and for grant aid in 1991, respectively). And, global public health has been one of the three largest outreach areas of S outh K orea's foreign aid programmes. This article examines the global public health outreach activities of S outh K orea's leading aid‐implementing agencies, namely K orea I nternational C ooperation A gency, K orea F oundation for I nternational H ealthcare and E conomic D evelopment and C ooperation F und, using data for the latest period, 2008–2012. S outh K orea's innovative global public health ODA through the G lobal P overty E radication C ontribution is also examined. The analysis of global public health outreach activities has shown that S outh K orea has concentrated its foreign aid to A sia and A frica, and that a large share of its aid has been focused on health care services; water, sanitation and hygiene ( WASH ); maternal and child health ( MCH ); and infectious diseases. A significant regional difference was found: S outh K orea's aid focused on health care services and MCH in A sia, while it focused on WASH and infectious diseases in A frica. Findings have also shown that S outh K orea's priority countries for development cooperation have received more aid compared with non‐priority countries. In conclusion, we have found that S outh K orea's global health outreach activities were in line with the M illennium D evelopment G oals ( MDGs ), but that they lack a clear focus and do not have globally recognised initiatives or projects compared with large and traditional donors such as the United States and J apan. Further research is needed to examine the impact of the rapidly rising aid activities of S outh K orea, especially in global public health.