Foreign ministry to seek 7.7 percent budget hike next year

SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Monday that it
would ask for a 7.7-percent increase year-on-year in its 2009 budget.
The ministry said it needs a total of 1.25 trillion won (US$800 million) next
year, up from last year's 1.16 trillion won.

It has earmarked 16 billion won for a new project to secure stable supplies of
energy. President Lee Myung-bak, a former construction firm CEO, has focused on
so-called energy diplomacy since he came to power in February.
The ministry also plans to increase the budget for official development
assistance (ODA) by 30 billion won to 312 billion won next year.
The country's ODA to underdeveloped nations this year accounts for 0.08 percent
of its gross national income. Seoul plans to raise the ratio to 0.15 percent by
2012 and 0.25 percent by 2015.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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