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The nations along the Indian Ocean coast suffered tremendous damage from a massive earthquake and tidal waves that occurred two days ago. As there are also reports of Koreans having been killed or gone missing, the government must quickly assess the damage and extend its concern for expatriates living in the afflicted zones.
As soon as disaster struck, the international community, including the United Nations, expressed its intention to rebuild the shattered or submerged communities and has since been sending out personnel and materiel to the water-wracked sites.
Our government earned itself international kudos by deciding yesterday to send US$600,000 (W628.6 million) in relief funds and assistance. It mustn¡¯t think, however, that this is all it needs to do. As order is restored to the disaster sites and the true extent of the damage comes to light, it will be necessary to proffer additional assistance.
In 1999, when massive earthquakes struck Turkey and Taiwan, Korea sent $100,000 in financial assistance, earning criticism from both home and abroad for being ungenerous.
Internationally, we are still viewed as penny-pinchers in terms of providing disaster aid. Last year, Korea¡¯s official development assistance (ODA) totaled $300 million. Even if supporters claim this should not be compared to the $15.8 billion granted by the United States or Japan's $8.9 billion, it didn't even amount to one tenth the amount sent by the Netherlands ($4 billion), a nation with a similarly sized economy to ours.
We cannot hope to be accepted as a good neighbor by the international community, nor raise Korea¡¯s prestige on the world stage, if we continue to behave in this way.
Southeast Asia is our fourth largest export market, the third largest recipient of overseas investment, and the second largest overseas construction market. We have run annual multi-billion dollar trade surpluses with the region for the last 14 consecutive years.
Geographically, the nations of Southeast Asia might be several thousands of kilometers apart, but economically, they have become crucial neighbors. The Korean people and their government must have it in their minds to share in some of their neighbors' misfortunes.
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