Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (South Korea)
The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries was a cabinet-level division of the government of South Korea. It is headquartered at the national government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. It was established with the founding of the First Republic of Korea in 1948. In 2013, it was succeeded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In 2007, the minister was Park Hong-soo (appointed January 2005), a farm community advocate and former Uri Party parliamentarian from Namhae. The vice minister was Park Hae-sang. Under the "participatory  government" of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the MAF has been charged with helping to create a "Society of Balance Development". The MFAFF was responsible for areas including crop insurance, land reclamation, agricultural statistics and the development of agricultural technology including genetically modified crops and environmentally friendly agriculture. It is also responsible for direct payments to rice farmers and for aspects of preparedness for natural disasters.