Assemblyman Lee Gae-ho Urges Large Corporations to Participate in the Rural-Urban Win-Win Cooperation Fund

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Lee Gae-ho, Chairman of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee (Democratic Party·Damyang Hampyeong Yeonggwang Jangseong), pointed out the insufficiency of the fund raised for the Rural-Urban Win-Win Cooperation Fund and urged active participation from private large corporations during the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' national audit on the 7th.

The Rural-Urban Win-Win Cooperation Fund was established in 2015 at the time of the ratification of the Korea-China FTA to support rural areas that would be adversely affected by the FTA, with contributions expected from large corporations benefiting from the FTA.

In the spirit of mutual coexistence and cooperation between large corporations and rural areas, the fund is stipulated by law through the "Special Act on Support for Agriculture and Fisheries in Relation to the Conclusion of Free Trade Agreements," based on the agreement of relevant government ministries, large corporations, and farmers' organizations.

However, the amount raised for the win-win fund, which aimed to collect 100 billion KRW annually, has only reached about 104.3 billion KRW from 2017 to September 2020, which is about 30% of the target amount.

Chairman Lee Gae-ho criticized the low amount raised for the win-win fund, stating, "Although many companies have achieved significant sales growth due to the FTA, private companies' contributions amount to only 17.7 billion KRW out of the 104.3 billion KRW raised, causing many farmers and fishermen to express concern and anger." He strongly criticized, "In particular, Doosan Heavy Industries recorded sales exceeding 15 trillion KRW in 2019, yet contributed only 1 million KRW, which is less than 0.00001% of their sales, mocking the purpose of the system."

He also urged, "I ask large corporations benefiting from the FTA to actively participate," and requested, "Members of the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Committee should strive to ensure that the purpose of introducing the win-win fund is well achieved."

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