The President of South Korea has promised to increase military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine

South Korea will increase the volumes of military and humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine in 2023. 

This was stated by Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at a briefing after negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday in Kyiv. 

"Last year, we provided body armour, helmets, and other necessary ammunition. We hope that the level of our assistance will be much higher this year," he said.

According to the Korean President, "In May, President Zelensky and I agreed on the supply of necessary equipment for such purposes as, for example, humanitarian demining, and we continue to do so. The Government of the Republic of Korea allocated $100 million to support Ukraine last year. This year, this support will amount to $150 million".

"We also plan to increase aid to Ukraine in restoring the education system. Last year, we decided to help in restoring destroyed schools. We would also like to provide Ukraine with support for future generations through the scholarship of the two presidents," Yoon Suk Yeol said.

According to him, "The current situation in Ukraine is similar to the situation in Korea 70 years ago". "About 70 years ago, the Republic of Korea also suffered an illegal invasion from 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 to the maximum, we were able to stop the occupiers and drive them from our land," the President said.

"We have familiarised ourselves with the Peace Formula provided to us and truly believe that it must be implemented. Especially considering that Korea is trying to play the role of a mediator in peace summits and meetings of countries belonging to the so-called Global South," the Korean President said.

Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, added that Yoon Suk Yeol had had the opportunity to see the aftermath of the russian occupation firsthand during his visit to Bucha and Irpin today.

"But Bucha and Irpin are just two of thousands of Ukrainian cities that have suffered the blows of russian terror. The scale of suffering and destruction brought by russia is colossal. Therefore, the scale of global cooperation must also be colossal to restore security and guarantee stable peace," the head of the Ukrainian state pointed out.

He also thanked Yoon Suk Yeol for the new initiatives regarding financial, technical, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

"This involves the reconstruction of infrastructure in Ukraine: schools, hospitals, housing, enterprises, everything that russian missiles and enemy artillery are destroying. I am grateful for the readiness to support our educational system. And it's very important that the Republic of Korea is truly protecting education and humanity. We need a new large-scale rehabilitation sector. I invited the Republic of Korea to demonstrate leadership in creating rehabilitation centres in Ukraine. Of course, we discussed economic cooperation – this includes energy, railways and transport in general, setting up production in Ukraine, localisation, and also the macro-financial sphere. We definitely have something to do jointly in each of these areas. And I am confident that our cooperation will give more strength to our people and the global positions of Ukraine and the Republic of Korea," the Ukrainian President emphasised.

He added that the agreement to hand over special-purpose transport and equipment to our country, including demining machines, is already being implemented.

Background. It was previously reported that Poland and South Korea had signed a memorandum on joint work to restore Ukraine.