809 people dispatched since first implemented in 2010
| 1-Year Secondment… Recruiting for 5 Fields, 65 Positions
Payment of various allowances, including housing expenses, to dispatched personnel

The National Information & Communication Technology Promotion Agency (NIPA) announced that it will recruit applicants for the first half of 2019 for the 'World Friends NIPA Advisory Group,' a program to dispatch retired domestic professionals overseas, for three weeks from March 29 to April 19.

The World Friends NIPA Advisory Corps Overseas Dispatch Project is part of the 'World Friends Korea (WFK)' program, an overseas volunteer program dispatched by the Korean government. It is a project that dispatches retired domestic professionals to governments and public institutions in developing countries to contribute to the economic and industrial development of developing countries and to strengthen friendly cooperative relations between the two nations through technical and management consulting.

This project has dispatched a total of 809 advisors from 45 countries, starting with 38 people from 18 countries in 2010, the first year of implementation, and reaching 130 people from 30 countries in 2018, who have been active in various fields.

In this recruitment, a total of 65 positions across five fields—information and communication, industrial technology, energy resources, trade and investment, and regional development—are scheduled to be dispatched for one year to about 20 countries including Vietnam, Laos, Ecuador, and Senegal.
Eligibility requirements include being a retired (or soon-to-be retired) professional in a relevant field with a strong sense of service to developing countries, possessing at least 10 years of practical experience in the field, and being able to give lectures, provide consultation, and write reports in English, or communicate in the official language commonly used locally.

Dispatched personnel are provided with local living expenses, including housing costs, activity support expenses, funds for departure and return, airfare, and insurance premiums.

In 2018, 177 people applied for 50 positions in the first half of the year, and 225 people applied for 64 positions in the second half, resulting in a competition rate of 3.5 to 1.

Those wishing to apply must complete and submit an application online through the official website of the World Friends NIPA Advisory Group (senior.nipa.kr). Prior to the application deadline, a recruitment information session will be held on the 8th at 3:00 PM in Conference Room 300 at COEX, Seoul.

The selection process will proceed through document screening, interviews, and physical examinations, and the selected advisors are scheduled to be dispatched to the recipient country starting this July after completing preliminary training in Korea.

Kim Tae-yeol, Head of NIPA’s Global ICT Business Division, said, “With the aging of society and the impending mass retirement of the baby boomer generation, the number of middle-aged people who wish to continue social activities even after retirement is increasing,” adding, “We will actively support retired personnel equipped with abundant expertise and a strong spirit of service so that they can embrace a second life while contributing to the development of developing countries.”