How Statistics Korea transformed itself from recipient to global leader

There are many ways to offer official development assistance (ODA) to another country, but not many people know that statistical know-how can be one of those ways.Its effectiveness, has already been proven in Korea.In the 1960s, Korea heavily relied on the shared expertise of foreign countries, as it lacked professionals and statistics infrastructure in the aftermath of the Korean War. This assistance led to the establishment of the first Statistics law in 1963, and helped the country conduct a national censs for population and housing.Coupled with subsequent efforts to develop its own statistical methods, the country was also able to establish a series of Five-Year Economic Plans, helping it to achieve rapid socioeconomic development.Now, the country is seeking to give back to the international community.

Statistics Korea’s ODA projects began in 2012 with Mongolia and Vietnam and have gradually expanded to countries in Latin America and Africa. As of this year, it has implemented statistical ODA projects in a total of 12 countries, including the seven countries currently being supported.”Korea’s leading statistical brand, the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), has been transplanted to several recipient countries,” said Lee Hyoung-il, commissioner of Statistics Korea, in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “It gave birth to MONSIS in Mongolia, ASIS in Azerbaijan, and TANSIS in Tanzania, creating a ‘K-statistics family.'”Helping to build statistical infrastructure like KOSIS is one of the three ODA methods provided by Statistics Korea. The institution also offers consulting tailored to the recipient country’s statistical environment and works to strengthen human resource capabilities.”We focus on ensuring that the assistance is not one-sided support, but rather provides sustainable infrastructure so that the recipients can become independent,” Lee said.The next step is to expand ODA initiatives to Africa, particularly in alignment with the 스포츠토토존 upcoming Korea-Africa Summit, scheduled from June 4 to 5.