Prime Minister Han Duck-soo Holds Weekly Meeting... Orders 'Gathering Opinions from Farmers' Groups'
Urges 'Thorough Preparation for Inspection Team's Visit' Regarding Busan World Expo
President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 27th asked Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to "gather opinions through close party-government consultations" regarding the amendment to the Grain Management Act that the opposition party forcibly passed. The presidential office has begun a full-scale process of collecting opinions, including reviewing petitions from farmers' organizations submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the presidential office.
Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the presidential office, held a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office in the afternoon and conveyed that President Yoon made this remark during a regular weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han. A senior official from the presidential office explained, "Since farmers' organizations are presenting various opinions, the instruction is to collect those opinions," adding, "The ruling party, as a partner in state affairs, has been directed to consult and reflect those opinions." When asked whether President Yoon directly mentioned the side effects of the Grain Management Act amendment to Prime Minister Han, the official said, "Prime Minister Han is already well aware of the content."
Currently, the presidential office is reviewing all petitions submitted by farmers' organizations to the presidential office and other related bodies. With the possibility increasing that President Yoon may exercise his veto power at the Cabinet meeting as early as next week, the strategy is to follow the prescribed legal procedures while actively responding to public opinion to minimize backlash. A presidential office official stated, "The legislative amendment bill is scheduled to be transferred to the government within this week. Although the process is still ongoing, opinions expressing concerns from various sectors continue to be received," adding, "Together with the relevant ministries, we will review all these opinions and explain to the public in a way that enables our farmers to build competitiveness."
The petitions submitted by farmers' organizations included concerns about President Yoon exercising his veto power, as well as requests to consider practical measures for farms to develop their own competitiveness. Some groups submitted opinions that even if rice is overproduced, the government's signal to purchase it would make it difficult to prevent structural oversupply of rice. They also pointed out side effects such as budget cuts in other sectors like livestock and youth farming development.
Another presidential office official said, "Since there are quite a few opinions from organizations that issued statements opposing the opposition party's unilateral passage in the National Assembly, we plan to engage in sufficient consultations between the party and government to establish a balanced grain policy from a mid- to long-term perspective so that the government's agricultural policy does not become politicized," adding, "We will carefully persuade the public about what measures are necessary to enhance farm competitiveness."
Meanwhile, during the weekly meeting, Prime Minister Han reported on the push to host the Busan World Expo, saying, "We will mobilize all public and private capabilities to fully demonstrate our country's hosting capacity and determination to the inspection team and make thorough preparations." In response, President Yoon asked, "Please ensure thorough preparations for the visit of the Expo inspection team from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in early April," Lee said.
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