S. Korea mulls donation to envisioned global pandemic fund

SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister has said his country will consider contributing to a proposed global fund designed to better tackle future pandemics, his office said Wednesday.

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho expressed the intention during a virtual meeting of the Group of 20 major economies' health and finance ministers held in Indonesia on Tuesday.

The World Bank aims to set up the global pandemic fund, named the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF), this year in a bid to prevent and respond to future pandemics, as the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic raised the urgency of coordinated global responses to future infectious diseases.

Choo supported the swift establishment and operation of the FIF, saying that a new pandemic could occur in the future, according to Seoul's finance ministry.

"The minister said his country plans to review 'proper' ways of contributing to the fund," the ministry added.

The envisioned fund will be created with donations from nations and private sectors, and the raised money will be used to pandemic-response projects by the World Health Organization, the World Bank and U.N. agencies.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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