The Republic of Korea joined the United Nations in 1991. Since then, it has played an ever more active role in the efforts to address a whole range of global issues, acting both as a regional facilitator and an influential international actor.

In 1996-1997, Korea served as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. During this period, it played an important role in advocating the protection of civilians caught up in armed conflicts. While Korea held the Presidency of the 56th Session of the General Assembly in 2001, former Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was elected as the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2006.

Peacekeeping operations have emerged as a vital and powerful means for the UN to help countries torn apart by conflict. Fully aware of the importance of international peace and security from its own experience of post-war nation-building, Korea has actively participated in fourteen UN peacekeeping operations, including in Lebanon, Somalia and East Timor, as well as in ceasefire monitoring and confidence-building efforts. Korea has also contributed to initiatives to assist local communities' attempts to recover through such means as the provision of medical services and assistance with local construction projects.

As a strong advocate of human rights, the Republic of Korea is a party to major international human rights conventions. A founding member of the Human Rights Council, Korea strives to contribute to strengthening the Council's role as a fair and effective body capable of responding to human rights abuses in a timely and efficient manner.

Moreover, Korea is firmly committed to promoting democracy. Korea has actively participated in the Community of Democracies at the global level and, by hosting the First Senior Officials Meeting in 2008, has also contributed to putting in place the framework for the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership.

Korea has also been an active player in global efforts to strengthen the disarmament and non-proliferation regimes. The annual international conference co-hosted by Korea and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs since 2002, the socalled "Jeju Process," has provided a meaningful platform for promoting discussions on various themes in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation. Korea's successful introduction, in cooperation with Australia, of a new resolution during the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly on preventing and combating illicit brokering activities stands as another example of Korea's active role in this field.

As part of efforts to enhance bilateral friendships and mutual understanding, as well as to contribute to reconciliation and cooperation at the global level, the Republic of Korea has fully committed itself to cultural exchanges with foreign countries. The nation also seeks to deepen awareness and understanding of traditional Korean art and culture abroad, and supports overseas Korean studies programs as well as numerous academic conferences and athletic exchanges. Established in 1991, the Korea Foundation is responsible for coordinating and supporting a vast array of international cultural exchange programs.

From 1945 up until the early 1990s, Korea received various forms of official development assistance (ODA) from the international community. This assistance served as a valuable resource in terms of Korea's phenomenal economic development. Now the 13th largest economy in the world, Korea is committed to becoming a donor country in the field of international  development. In particular, Korea is striving to help meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations, and to this end, is planning to gradually expand its ODA. In 2008, Korea provided a total of US$797 million (preliminary figure) worth of ODA; and plans are currently in the works to expand this amount to 0.15% of its Gross National Income (GNI) by 2012, and to 0.25% by 2015.

Korea's ODA administration system includes bilateral and multilateral assistance. Bilateral assistance is divided into grants and concessional loans. Grants, composed of grant and technical cooperation programs, are implemented by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in accordance with the policy guidelines set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). While grant aid programs are implemented exclusively by KOICA, some technical cooperation programs are being carried out by other government agencies and organizations. Concessional loans are managed by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) programmed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea EXIM Bank) under the supervision of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

In recognition of the growing humanitarian demands across the world arising from the compounded challenges of climate change, the global food crisis, natural disasters, and conflicts, Korea continues to scale up its humanitarian assistance. To this end, it has taken advantage of a variety of channels and methods at the national, regional, and global levels, with the aim being that of facilitating a more effective and coordinated humanitarian response. The vulnerable and poor across the world suffered the most from the surge in food prices as well as climate-related disasters in 2008. In this context, Korea has committed itself to offering 100 million US dollars over a span of three years (2009-2011) for emergency food aid and agricultural development cooperation in developing countries. This fund will be of value in tackling the global food crisis and enhancing food security. In 2008, Korea also offered emergency relief assistance of more than 10 million US dollars to those affected by disasters in 29 countries, including China and Myanmar which suffered from devastating disasters in 2008.

In September 2007, Korea introduced an air-ticket solidarity contribution scheme, called the Global Poverty Eradication Contribution, which levies a fee of 1,000 Korean won on all international airline passengers departing from Korea. Proceeds from the program are used in the overall global effort to eradicate poverty and disease in developing countries. The funds have mainly been invested in UNITAID (an international drug purchase facility) and NGO projects for eradicating disease in Africa, a continent where more than 3.2 million people die on average per year of three major diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria), and an even greater number of people's lives are impacted by other tropical diseases.