SEOUL, Sept 22, 2006 (AFP) - South Korea is planning a levy on international airline tickets to raise funds for international aid, Finance Minister Kwon O-Kyu said Friday.
"Seoul is committed to doing its part in helping other countries and will make efforts to raise public awareness of and support for expanding ODA (official development assistance)," Kwon said.
South Korea pledged in May to increase annual aid to developing countries to 960 million dollars by around 2008 from the current 745 million.
Kwon said the government plans to introduce a program requiring people who buy international plane tickets in South Korea to pay a small extra charge to help developing countries.
The tickets tax was promoted by France, whose parliament in January passed a measure that will add a tax of up to 47 dollars for travellers departing French airports.
Twelve countries in March agreed to join France in imposing a tax on airline tickets to fund HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs.
Kwon was speaking at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of his country's joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The war-battered nation was one of the world's poorest countries in the 1950s but is now the world's 12th largest economy.
At Friday's conference, an OECD expert said South Korea's aid projects should try to avoid the tendency to seek visibility rather than offering substantial assistance.
"South Korea's present program is still very much project-based, including many small institutional projects with a strong 'Korean friendship' label," Michael Roeskau was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.
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