RIO DE JANEIRO (Yonhap News) ― South Korea plans to increase the portion of eco-friendly green programs it supports to 30 percent of its official development assistance fund by 2020, the country’s top economic policymaker said Thursday.

In a speech given on the sidelines of the “Rio+20” summit in Rio de Janeiro, Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jae-wan said Seoul’s plans to assign more money to green programs through its ODA program is part of a larger effort to support sustainable growth worldwide.

He said the country will also launch a “green growth fund” with the World Bank worth US$40 million that will be set aside to support developing countries carry out their green growth projects.

“South Korea has, moreover, pledged $200 million from 2009 to 2012 to the East Asia Climate Partnership to support water management and waste disposal efforts in emerging countries,” the official said.

The remarks come as Asia’s fourth-largest economy declared it will engage in low carbon, green growth in 2008, and set up a plan to annually invest 2 percent of its gross domestic product in green growth initiatives. The country said it will voluntarily cut its greenhouse gas emissions, cited for causing global warming, by 30 percent from its business and usual growth projection by 2020.

Bahk said South Korea will launch a Global Green growth Partnership endeavor in 2013, which will focus on supporting so-called inclusive green growth for the developing world and establish a dedicated institute to support the establishment and implementation of green growth policies.

The finance minister, meanwhile, said at the meeting in Brazil attended by finance ministers from 13 countries and representatives from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, that in order for the new green growth paradigm to take root, there is a need to form strong leadership to push forth programs, work together to develop necessary technologies and make financial contributions. He stressed Seoul is committed to aiding such measures in the future. (Yonhap News)