Proposal for the Enactment of a Special Law on Supporting Agricultural Revitalization
The Seo-gu Council of Gwangju City announced on the 29th that at the 3rd plenary session of the 336th 2nd regular meeting, Councilor Lim Seonghwa, as the representative, proposed a recommendation for the enactment of a special law on "Resolving the Issue of Reverse Discrimination in Urban-Rural Districts and Supporting Agricultural Revitalization."
Councilor Lim Seonghwa pointed out, "By continuing to classify only 'eup' and 'myeon' as rural areas without reflecting recent changes, and by designating only a few areas as 'rural' in a very limited way, farmers in the same 'dong' districts are facing structural reverse discrimination, as they are excluded from the government's agricultural and rural support policies."
She continued, "Even within Seo-gu, farmers in urban-rural districts such as Yudeok-dong, Seochang-dong, and Chipyeong-dong are excluded from at least 23 central and local government support programs, including social security, housing, education, income support, tax benefits, and regional balanced development. As a result, farmers in these districts are deprived of basic social safety nets and opportunities to improve their quality of life."
Gwangju Seo-gu Council, led by Councilor Lim Seonghwa, proposes the enactment of a special law on "Resolving the Issue of Reverse Discrimination between Urban and Rural Areas and Supporting Agricultural Revitalization" Photo by Gwangju Seo-gu Council
Accordingly, all members of the Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City proposed: ▲ the enactment of a special law on the revitalization and support of agriculture in urban-rural complex areas; ▲ a review of the unreasonable implementation guidelines focused on 'eup' and 'myeon' and the selection of support recipients based on actual agricultural activities; ▲ and the verification of the effectiveness of new support policies for rural districts within large cities, as well as exploring ways to expand these measures nationwide.
Councilor Lim Seonghwa emphasized, "A rigid approach that applies policy support solely based on legal administrative units, without considering the actual conditions of each region, creates blind spots in balanced regional development, and this must be actively improved."
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