Policy Chief Lee Gwansub Visits Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market: "Price Stability Is Top Priority"

First Visit to Public Livelihood Site After Appointment
Observing Agricultural Product Auction to Assess Price Situation

Lee Gwan-seop, Chief of Policy at the Presidential Office, visited the Garak-dong Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market and stated that stabilizing prices will be the top priority in policy implementation.

On the 12th, Lee visited the Garak-dong Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and met with merchants, saying, "The recent rise in agricultural product prices has increased the burden of living costs on ordinary citizens," the Presidential Office reported on the 13th. This is the first time Lee has visited a livelihood site since his appointment on the 30th of last month.

Earlier, upon his appointment as Chief of Policy, Lee expressed, "Although various economic indicators are showing signs of recovery, the livelihood of the people remains difficult. Therefore, stabilizing prices immediately will be the top priority, and we will mobilize all available policies to achieve price stabilization."

Upon arrival at the site, Lee received a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the supply and demand trends of major agricultural products, directly observed the agricultural product auction in progress, and checked the wholesale price changes and quality of key items to assess the price situation.

The auctioneers at the site explained, "Since October, agricultural product prices have generally stabilized, but fruits such as apples and pears, whose production decreased this year, are priced at higher levels compared to last year."

In response, Lee requested the relevant ministries to "steadily implement measures to reduce household burdens and continuously monitor the supply and demand conditions of items with stable prices, taking proactive measures if necessary."

Lee Gwansub, Chief of Policy Office at the Presidential Office, visited the Garak-dong Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market in Songpa-gu, Seoul, as his first field visit to public livelihood sites since taking office, to check the trends in agricultural product prices, the Presidential Office announced on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government, led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is promoting discount support for agricultural and livestock products by designating items with high consumer burden weekly and providing discounts of up to 40%. This year, 118 billion KRW has been invested, with an additional 10.5 billion KRW from contingency funds to continue discounts until the end of the year.

Additionally, in cooperation with the distribution industry, the government supplies affordable fruits such as imperfect agricultural products to the market and introduces substitute items by lowering tariffs on tropical fruits like bananas and mangoes.

The auctioneers at the wholesale market present pledged to actively participate in price stabilization efforts by reducing distribution costs such as auction fees to lower consumer prices.