Jeong Hwang-geun, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Declares "Will Secure Food Sovereignty" in Inaugural Speech

Inaugural Speech: "Promoting as a Core Project for Dry Rice Flour Industrialization"
Regarding CPTPP: "Will Develop Negotiation Strategies Through Communication with the Agricultural Sector"

Jeong Hwang-geun, nominee for Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 6th and taking the witness oath. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Jeong Hwang-geun, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, emphasized "food sovereignty" as his inaugural statement on the 11th, saying, "We will secure food sovereignty and provide safe food to the people."

At the inauguration ceremony held at the Government Sejong Complex on the same day, Minister Jeong stated, "We will expand the self-sufficiency structure, which is currently concentrated on rice, to major grains such as wheat and soybeans by expanding the domestic production base and stockpiling infrastructure for wheat and soybeans, which have low self-sufficiency rates."

Minister Jeong said, "We will promote the industrialization of dry rice flour as a core project to replace wheat flour to improve food security issues and stabilize rice supply and demand," adding, "We will support companies entering overseas grain markets to secure a stable overseas supply chain in emergencies." He continued, "We will secure farmland essential for food security," and said, "While preserving high-quality farmland, we will strengthen incentives for farmland conservation."

Regarding social conflicts surrounding the accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he expressed his willingness for 'communication,' saying, "We will establish negotiation strategies reflecting the sensitivity of agriculture while sufficiently communicating with the agricultural sector."

He explained, "We will closely communicate with the agricultural sector to resolve urgent issues together," and added, "If participation in the CPTPP becomes inevitable, we will prepare sufficient supplementary measures for the agricultural sector."

Minister Jeong also announced, "We will increase agricultural direct payments to 5 trillion won," and said, "We will eliminate blind spots in the basic direct payment system and expand the selective direct payment system." He added, "To reduce the management burden of agriculture, we will stably supply rural labor, promote field mechanization, provide discounted fertilizers, and expand the quota for feed tariff allocations."

Minister Jeong stated, "We will create a happy society together with companion animals," and said, "We will change the companion animal sales business to a licensing system, expand infrastructure for protecting abandoned animals, and strengthen punishment for abusive acts." He continued, "We will prepare measures to reduce the burden of veterinary medical expenses for companion animals and present a roadmap to end dog meat consumption based on social consensus."

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