Hankyung Research Institute "Ukraine Support Scale Must Be Expanded and European Cooperation Strengthened"

Report on the Implications of Ukraine Post-War Reconstruction Projects for the Korean Economy

If South Korea wants to expand its participation in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction projects, there is an argument that it needs to increase the scale of support for Ukraine and strengthen cooperation with Europe.

On the 3rd, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) under the Korea Economic Association (KEA) stated in its report titled 'Implications of Ukraine's Post-War Reconstruction Projects for the Korean Economy' that the level of support for Ukraine is likely to determine how many participation opportunities the country will have in future reconstruction projects.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The report pointed out that South Korea's support scale for Ukraine relative to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (as of July 2023 cumulative) is around 0.03%, which is lower compared to other countries such as Japan (0.15%), the United States (0.33%), and Poland (0.69%).

The report stated that if the South Korean government considers participating in Ukraine's reconstruction projects, a strategic approach such as increasing financial aid and material support is necessary. It mentioned that since Ukraine aims to join the European Union (EU) after the war, "there is a high possibility that EU standards will be applied in processes such as bidding, procurement, and contracting for reconstruction projects, so companies participating in reconstruction must also have the capability to meet EU standards," it advised.

It also suggested that actively seeking ways to participate in reconstruction projects by forming consortia jointly with European countries or including European companies could be one method. Except for the United States, European countries are making significant contributions to supporting Ukraine, and European companies have a high understanding of and adaptability to EU standards, so active promotion of joint participation in reconstruction projects with these countries and companies is necessary.

Lee Taegyu, Senior Research Fellow at KERI, said, “While pursuing economic benefits in participating in Ukraine's reconstruction projects is necessary, more importantly, an approach to secure a position as a ‘global pivotal state’ in Europe is needed,” adding, “It is necessary to have an attitude of contributing to humanitarian protection and European stability through support for Ukraine.”

He continued, “Korean companies participating in reconstruction projects must understand various standards such as EU directives and EU regulations and strive to meet them,” and added, "A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for participation in Ukraine's reconstruction between Korea and Poland has been concluded, and efforts are needed to realize this as consortia between companies from both countries across various industries.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.