The government has defended a bipartisan agreement to establish a one-trillion-won fund for agricultural and fisheries industries most likely to be effected by the free trade agreement with China.
 
Director Chung Kyu-don of the Finance Ministry’s international economic affairs bureau said in a news briefing on Tuesday that the fund is aimed at promoting companies’ voluntary participation in co-prosperity projects for farmers by offering incentives to companies donating to the fund.
 
The official said that the government set the target amount at one trillion, but no specific amount is set for each company. He added that businesses could contribute to the fund as part of their ordinary social responsibility activities.
 
The Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry’s Director General for FTA Negotiations Kim Hak-do also told reporters that the fund is not a quasi-tax on businesses.