The Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly Unilaterally Approves the Grain Management Act at the Agenda Coordination Committee... Ruling Party Members Absent

Proposal submitted to the Agenda Coordination Committee, but the opposition party proceeded swiftly
Scheduled for full meeting of the Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee
Ministry of Agriculture's opposition... Difficulties expected in passing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Amid disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, the amended Grain Management Act, which was referred to the Agenda Coordination Committee, was ultimately passed despite the absence of ruling party members.

The National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee held its third Agenda Coordination Committee meeting at 2 p.m. on the 12th at the National Assembly and approved the "Partial Amendment to the Grain Management Act" as an alternative.

The meeting was held without any members from the People Power Party attending. Yoon Jun-byeong, chairman of the Agenda Coordination Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, criticized during the meeting, "The ruling party requested the agenda coordination committee to be convened with the intention of having in-depth discussions, but ironically, despite the opportunity for thorough debate, they did not attend twice. It shows they have no intention of participating in the agenda coordination committee itself."

After the meeting, he told reporters, "I requested the People Power Party members to attend the meeting and present constructive alternatives," adding, "No official response was received."

Earlier, the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Committee processed eight amendments to the Grain Management Act at the Agriculture Bill Review Subcommittee on the 15th of last month and submitted the bill to the plenary session on the 26th of the same month. The ruling party members from the People Power Party then applied for referral to the Agenda Coordination Committee to block the bill.

However, the Agenda Coordination Committee passes bills with the approval of two-thirds of its members. Independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, originally from the Democratic Party, agreed to the decision, resulting in the bill being approved by a 4 to 2 vote.

The bill that passed contains the contents of the eight bills referred to the Agenda Coordination Committee. The core provisions include raising the rice market isolation requirements from the current "notification" level to "law," and mandating the government to compulsorily purchase excess rice production during the harvest season (October to December) if the surplus exceeds 3% or if prices fall by more than 5%.

Regarding the next steps, Representative Yoon explained, "Since the bill was approved at the Agenda Coordination Committee today, the approval process at the full committee meeting remains. Once approved, it will move to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. If the bill is held for more than 60 days in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, it will automatically be referred back to the full committee, and if approved there, it can be immediately sent to the plenary session. The process is expected to proceed accordingly."

He also indicated his intention to see the bill passed, saying, "(Personally) I think it should be processed. The logic, necessity, and justification for mandating market isolation are clear, so I believe the government and ruling party, especially the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, are sufficiently representing this position on the surface."

During the Agenda Coordination Committee meeting, a heated debate occurred between Democratic Party members and government officials opposing the amendment to the Grain Management Act. Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Jeong-hoon stated, "The government's continuous claim that mandatory market isolation structurally causes oversupply of rice lacks substantial evidence," and added, "I think both the ruling party and government are ignoring the imminent rice harvest season this year and the suffering of farmers."

Representative Lee Won-taek also asked Deputy Minister Kim In-jung of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, "Have you discussed any amendments?"

Deputy Minister Kim responded, "We have not specifically reviewed such measures within the government. Automatic market isolation fundamentally institutionalizes the government's compulsory purchase. We believe it will have a decisive impact, such as exacerbating the oversupply of rice in the market," opposing the bill.

The bill must pass the full Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Committee meeting, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's structural and wording review, and the plenary session to take effect. Since the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party, difficulties in final approval are expected.

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