GOVERNMENT TO EXPAND MAJOR PROJECTS IN 2014 BUDGET


Expansion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) - Saemaeul Movement

The National Assembly decided to increase Saemaeul Movement-related ODA funding by 3.5 billion won to 26.2 billion won in 2014, an increase of 36 percent compared to 2013.* The original 2014 budget proposal that was submitted to the National Assembly had allocated 22.7 billion won for Saemaeul Movement-related ODA funding. The National Assembly came to its conclusion based on the high demand to learn about Korea's Saemaeul Movement campaign, which was hugely successful in developing Korea's agricultural sector, from developing countries mainly located in South East Asia as well as Africa.

*22.7 billion in funding was originally proposed.

The government plans to expand and globalize the Saemaeul Movement campaign to satisfy this demand, and will work closely with international organizations, such as the United Nations Development Programme, and developing countries, in order to meet these goals.

The Creative Economy

The National Assembly also decided to increase creative economy-related funding by 50.0 billion won to 6.55 trillion won.* The government expects this increase will create more high-quality jobs by creating both new industries and new markets as well as strengthening the structure of the Korean economy.

*6.5 trillion in funding was originally proposed.

A number of major projects will receive an increase in funding in 2014:

'Offline Creative Economy Towns,' which provide a space for communication and exchange between startups, investors, mentors, and support institutions as well as education and consulting services, will be expanded from 1 to 3 locations and will have its funding increased from 2.3 billion won to 4.0 billion won.

Creative spaces known as 'Endless Imagination Rooms' will also be expanded from 20 to 40 locations, and will have its funding increased from 1.0 billion won to 2.0 billion won. The 'Endless Imagination Rooms' are locations that provide support for contents creation, test product production and software development.

Employee-employer matching will be stimulated through the creation of a contents portal (2.5 billion won in funding) that will connect job seekers with hiring firms in real-time in order to promote job creation.

The government will invest 4.0 billion won to help pioneers new markets and new industries, for example by investing in specialized 3D printing for the healthcare sector.

Please refer to the attached PDF.

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