Leading newspapers in advanced economies are spotlighting the Korean government''s eco-friendly national strategies, which are further boosting the Lee Myung-bak administration''s momentum for its low carbon and green growth plans.

France''s Le Figaro said in July that Korea had allotted an unparalleled amount of budgetary funds for green growth, compared to other OECD members. It added that Korea was turning the financial crisis into an economic opportunity through its ambitious plans.

The Korean government plans to be expending as much as 2 percent of national GDP on green investment by 2013. The United Nations advised its member states to allocate 1 percent of GDP in the field.

According to the Korea Development Bank (KDB), Korea''s top 400 companies plan to increase their investment into environment-friendly facilities by 14.7 percent every year until 2012.

By 2013, Korea''s Samsung plans to devote 5.4 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) to green industries, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The source also said that Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group would spend 4.1 trillion won ($3.3 billion) on eco-friendly car production and reduction of greenhouse gases. Other top 30 groups including LG and SK will reportedly expend 3.8 trillion won ($3.1 billion) on green industries.

Spain''s leading newspaper El Mundo said in July that Korea had shown its capacity and strong belief in green growth in its Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggye Stream) restoration project and a variety of reforestation schemes.

Liaowang, a weekly news magazine published by China''s Xinhua News Agency, said in May, "President Lee''s low carbon and green growth policy is a new pattern of economic development. Amid earnest searching for new growth engines by many countries in difficult times, Korea''s green growth policy has many things to offer China."

Singapore''s Straits Times said on June 24 that Korea was investing as much as 5 percent of GDP on research and development and allocating a whopping amount of its budget to green technology research and development.

The Korean government also announced a "national green IT development plan" in May and a "5 year green growth plan" in July. The 5-year plan was named after former president Park Chung-hee''s 5-year economic development projects, which started in the 1960s.

When the world economy was reeling from the credit crunch in January, Japan''s Nihon Keizai Shimbun said, "President Lee put up a green growth strategy to overcome the economic crisis. There was no other choice but the one he took. Japan should come up with its own green new deal in short order."

Six months later, the country''s Asahi Shimbun called Japan and Korea good rivals in green development and economic recovery. The daily cheered the Korean government''s environmental efforts and hoped the two countries would compete in the green century ahead.