Kang Hyungseok, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is greeting ruling party lawmakers at the Subcommittee on Bill Examination of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee held at the National Assembly on the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News
The Grain Management Act, over which former President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his veto power, passed the bill subcommittee of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on July 24 through an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties.
The revised Grain Management Act that passed the subcommittee stipulates that if the quantity of rice produced in excess of domestic demand exceeds a certain threshold, or if the price of rice falls below a reference price, the government will purchase the surplus production.
However, the ruling and opposition parties partially amended the bill so that the conditions and procedures for purchasing surplus production will be determined by presidential decree. This measure is intended to expand the government's discretionary authority. The price stabilization system, which would have provided support for the difference when grain prices fall, was excluded. Lee Wontae, secretary of the committee, stated, "The price stabilization system will be reviewed collectively under the Act on Distribution and Price Stabilization of Agricultural and Fishery Products."
The Grain Management Act, led by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, passed the National Assembly plenary session twice, in March 2023 and November of last year. However, both times the bill was discarded after the veto was exercised and the re-vote failed. Former President Yoon, when exercising his first veto in April 2023, stated, "A law that requires the government to purchase all surplus unconditionally does not help farmers."
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