Minister of Oceans and Fisheries and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Requests Temporary Increase of Lunar New Year Seafood and Agricultural Gift Value to 200,000 Won

Meeting with the Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission
"Temporary Increase Last Chuseok Had a Significant Effect"

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] On the 7th, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs requested the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to temporarily raise the 'gift price limit for agricultural and marine products and processed agricultural and marine products' from the current 100,000 won to 200,000 won.

That afternoon, Minister Moon Sung-hyeok of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Minister Kim Hyun-soo of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs met with Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to make this request. The purpose is to support the agricultural and marine industries struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

At the meeting, the two ministers conveyed opinions from the agricultural and marine industries and related organizations demanding an increase in the gift price limit for agricultural and marine products during the Lunar New Year holiday. They emphasized that these industries are facing great difficulties due to reduced consumption in the dining-out and catering sectors and the suspension of school meals, leading to a contraction in consumption. In particular, major agricultural and marine products such as apples, pears, ginseng, Korean beef, dried yellow corvina, and abalone heavily rely on holiday consumption, so a decrease in consumption due to reduced homecoming could cause significant damage to farmers and fishermen.

They also explained that during last year's Chuseok holiday, the temporary increase of the price limit to 200,000 won resulted in a 7% increase in sales of agricultural and marine product gifts compared to Chuseok 2019, with gifts priced between 100,000 and 200,000 won increasing by 10%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the price adjustment.

Minister Moon said, "This Lunar New Year holiday, the spread of COVID-19 is expected to be more severe than last Chuseok, along with strengthened quarantine measures, leading to a decrease in the number of people returning home." He added, "It is necessary to drive agricultural and marine product consumption and domestic demand revitalization through a gift-giving campaign linked to the price increase measure."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.