Research shows that the nation's forests generate two-point-three trillion won in economic benefits annually by absorbing carbon dioxide.

The Korea Forest Research Institute said forests absorb some 40-million tons of the greenhouse gas each year. Their photosynthesis also generates 30-million tons of oxygen.

The institute added that with the planting of trees with a strong capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, like the yellow poplar, the amount of carbon dioxide absorption would increase dramatically.