The world is facing urgent challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and food insecurity, while global development finance is projected to decline as major donors cut official development assistance (ODA). South Korea, uniquely positioned as a former aid recipient turned donor, is one of the few countries expanding its ODA, with priorities in digital development, health, and green growth. This seminar will discuss current issues in global development finance and explore Korea’s role as a rising donor in the evolving aid landscape and its potential to shape a more effective and forward-looking development paradigm.

Speaker:

Sungsup Ra is a visiting scholar for the 2025 calendar year at Shorenstein APARC; and a Visiting Professor at the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School). He teaches and advises on development issues and serves as advisor or board member for institutions such as the International Finance Facility for Education, the International Centre for Industrial Transformation, Nanyang Technological University, and the Global Institute of Emerging Technologies at the Education University of Hong Kong.

Before joining KDI School in April 2024, Ra was Deputy Director General and Deputy Group Chief of the Sectors Group at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where he led strategies, innovation, and sovereign operations across all sectors. He also served as Chief Sector Officer of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Director of Human and Social Development for South Asia, Director of Pacific Operations, and Chair of the Education Sector Group at ADB. Prior to ADB, he worked for Samsung and the Korean National Pension Service, and held faculty appointments at leading universities in the US, Japan, and Korea. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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