Josujin: "Even 'Finishing a Bowl of Rice' Discussed at Minsheng 119"

As the People Power Party focuses on livelihood efforts to address the decline in party and presidential approval ratings, Jo Su-jin, a member of the People Power Party and chairperson of the party's special committee on livelihood measures called 'Minsaeng 119,' revealed that they even discussed "finishing a bowl of rice" in relation to rice.

On the 5th, Jo said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "Isn't the issue of surplus rice a very painful reality right now?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party held the first meeting of 'Minsaeng 119' on the 3rd and set their first initiative as a 'campaign to send bottled water to island regions.' This is to send bottled water to island areas suffering from drought and lack of drinking water.

They also discussed a 'finish a bowl of rice' campaign to solve the surplus rice problem. Jo said, "Many women, for example, often avoid eating rice for dieting purposes. However, compared to other foods, rice actually has relatively low calories," adding, "We need to actively promote this and encourage a shift in public perception."

She continued, "Another major difficulty farmers face is attracting foreign workers, and dormitories are essential to recruit and accommodate these workers," adding, "However, many local governments currently lack adequate dormitory facilities. When the rice planting season arrives, we plan to conduct an on-site inspection."

Regarding the amendment to the Grain Management Act, which was passed under the leadership of the Democratic Party but vetoed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, she criticized, "The Grain Management Act is not truly related to the future of agriculture, which is why it is problematic now," pointing out, "It mandates the government to compulsorily purchase surplus rice, but is this really connected to the future of agriculture?"

She added, "(The Grain Management Act) does not involve developing high-quality rice varieties, production, or encouraging consumer consumption," and "Moreover, procedural democracy is very important, but this law was pushed through by independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, who was expelled from the party due to corruption related to comfort women victims, using a trick to place it in the standing committee's agenda adjustment committee."

Jo said, "What we must not do in politics is hypocrisy (doing something yourself is romance, but if others do it, it's a scandal). When the Democratic Party was in power, they said this law was unacceptable, but now that they are in opposition and the regime has changed, they say it must be done," adding, "How can we accept that? This law has serious problems both procedurally and substantively."

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