South Korea is beginning to take its trade and aid more seriously, and Africa stands to benefit. The Seoul government’s hosting of the G-20 Summit in November again...

Seoul intends to keep the promises made at November’s G-20 summit and began by hosting a gathering of Asian development agencies on 19 November.

South Korea’s new Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung-hwan took office in October, pledging closer engagement with Africa. His first emissary is Deputy Minister Kim Jae-shin, whose...

African countries, like most states at the Group of 20 summit in Seoul on 12-13 November, saw their core concerns about growing protectionism and investment flows overshadowed by...

The 12-13 November Group of 20 Summit in Seoul afforded a great opportunity for South Korea to boost its Africa diplomacy. This is based on a modest aid budget, multibillion...

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak is due in Kinshasa in early 2011 to reciprocate Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s visit to Seoul in March. This month, the Korean International...

Korea National Oil Corporation is discussing a potential strategic partnership with the parastatal Congolaise des Hydrocarbures. KNOC President Kang Young-won and Cohydro Chairman Séraphin Tshibambe Ndjibu were in...

South Korea cannot match the deals made by China nor can it provide the same levels of aid as countries in North America and Europe. Still, that does not stop...

South Korea has come late to the African party. Seoul's anxiety to match Japan, China and India's engagement with the continent has seen it emulate many of their multilateral development forums...

An espionage row in which Libya expelled one of Seoul’s secret agents is holding up progress on a US$438 million project signed on 6 August between South Korea’s...

Members of Ghana's opposition are demanding more due diligence on the government's US$1.5 billion housing deal.

On 24 May, Seoul’s Strategy and Finance Ministry identified Algeria, Ethiopia, Congo-Kinshasa, South Africa and Tanzania as ‘strategically important’ countries in its economic cooperation with Africa. South Korea...

The Ghanaian government is proposing to put up US$1.5 billion of its future oil revenues to finance the first phase of a controversial housing project with the South Korean construction...

Five years after his first official visit, President Joseph Kabila returned to South Korea on 29-30 March. Two protocols were agreed. The first accord seeks to replicate China’s US$6...

Lee Myung-bak has kept Africa high on his agenda and has continued his predecessor’s Africa-friendly policies. A second Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Conference was held in 2008, emulating the...

The January trip to North Africa of South Korea’s Kim Hyong-o served two main objectives – to promote trade and to lay the groundwork for a non-permanent seat...

Under President Lee Myung-bak, South Korea is devoting more attention to Africa. In 2009, Lee pledged to double aid to Africa to US$200 million. Shortly after, Seoul hosted...