Following the launch of the Mekong-ROK partnership in 2011, the MKCF was established in 2013 to encourage and support cooperation in six priority areas outlined in the Han River Declaration of 2011. 

The Fund provides a grant for projects that are of regional in nature. Such project is aligned with the priorities of the country to address national issues that facilitate regional integration process. The funded project can be implemented in a single country, in the meantime benefits should be shared among the countries in the Mekong region and the ROK so that the cooperation and integration in the General Mekong Subregion are fostered.

It was agreed among five Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Viet Nam and Thailand) and the ROK that the MKCF will be financed through an annual contribution from the RoK to MI and will be managed by Mekong Institute (MI) in accordance with the Terms of Reference (TOR) adopted at the 3rd Mekong–RoK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2013 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Moreover, at the 5th Mekong–ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in August 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Ministers recognized the need for a more efficient management of the MKCF and agreed to task MI to act as a Coordinator for the MKCF.