Actions taken:
(PLEDGE 1)
The Republic of Korea (ROK) has pledged to actively participate in regional and international cooperation in the field of disaster preparedness, response and coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance in tune with the IDRL Guidelines and the Model Act.
(IMPLEMENTATION)
Regional Cooperation
The Republic of Korea has been actively involved in regional cooperation on disaster preparedness and response. The ROK has attended the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief, including the 22nd Meeting held in April 2024. Furthermore, the ROK has provided humanitarian aid through international organizations to support relief efforts for natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region. The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) was also dispatched to Nepal (in 2015) and Laos (in 2018), to provide emergency relief for sudden-onset earthquakes and floods.
In collaboration with the IFRC, the ROK implemented a multi-year integrated flood resilience program through community-based disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh and East Timor from 2018 to 2023.
Global Humanitarian Assistance
As part of efforts to keep up with the global discourse on how to better respond to growing humanitarian needs, Korea revised the Humanitarian Assistance Strategy in 2019 and engaged in international efforts to enhance humanitarian support. Embracing the fundamental principle of promoting field-oriented humanitarian assistance, Korea has continued to provide support for ‘forgotten crises,’ focusing on conflict-affected and fragile states such as Syria and Yemen. Korea remains committed to expanding multi-year and flexible contributions as agreed upon in the Grand Bargain.
Furthermore, acknowledging the importance of the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), the Republic of Korea has been contributing to the Fund following through on its commitment to contribute 3 million US dollars spanning the period from 2023 to 2025. This contribution aims to enhance the crisis response capabilities of the international community and local actors in emergencies. It seeks also to promote participation, in efforts to reduce disaster vulnerability through predictive measures and timely disaster response.