Democrats: "Yoon rejects Grain Management Act with false research... Expect ruling party conscience vote"

Democratic Party Criticizes Nongkyungyeon Report Citing Veto Power
"Report Overestimates Rice Production and Does Not Reflect Amendments"

Members of the Democratic Party's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee pointed out that the basis for President Yoon Seok-yeol's veto of the Grain Management Act was flawed. The report used as the basis for President Yoon's request for reconsideration (veto) overestimated rice production and targeted a version of the Grain Management Act that was not the amended bill passed by the National Assembly. The Democratic Party requested a re-vote on the Grain Management Act at tomorrow's plenary session and called for the participation of People Power Party members.

On the 12th, Democratic Party members of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "As a result of the inquiry into current issues, it has been revealed that the report by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, which was a major basis for the president's veto, was a false study," and added, "The government's claim that rice production is excessive and that more than 1 trillion won in fiscal burden is expected annually was based on overestimated data, misleading public opinion."

According to them, the report overestimated rice production. Democratic Party lawmakers said, "The institute fixed the unit yield (per unit area) at 521kg per 300 pyeong when projecting without the law's amendment, but assumed it would increase annually to 553kg by 2030 with the law's amendment," adding, "The average unit yield since 2010 has been only 512kg, but the production per unit area was inflated by 41kg." As a result, rice production was overestimated by 255,000 tons.

They also pointed out that adjustments to rice production through cultivation area management under the Grain Management Act were not reflected. Democratic Party members of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee said, "Despite the implementation of the production adjustment system, the institute underestimated the annual decrease rate of rice cultivation area at 0.54%," and criticized, "This is an underestimation compared to the 20-year average decrease rate of 1.93% and the 10-year average decrease rate of 1.52%, inflating rice production." Furthermore, they introduced, "According to the '2023-2027 Agricultural, Rural, and Food Industry Development Plan' announced by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration on the 6th, the wheat self-sufficiency rate in 2027 is projected at 8.0% and the soybean self-sufficiency rate at 43.5%. The wheat and soybean cultivation areas required to achieve this amount to approximately 48,817 hectares, and if this is achieved by converting rice cultivation areas, production is expected to be about 252,873 tons less than the institute's forecast."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, Democratic Party members of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee criticized that the Korea Rural Economic Institute analyzed the Democratic Party's version of the Grain Management Act, but the bill passed by the National Assembly was an amended version that included additional provisions such as excess production standards, prices, and market isolation exemptions. The Democratic Party had accepted Speaker Kim Jin-pyo's mediation proposal and processed an amended bill that made the mandatory purchase activation conditions stricter than the original Grain Management Act.

Democratic Party lawmakers said, citing these reasons, "We strongly condemn the false research results of the Korea Rural Economic Institute and demand the dismissal of Minister Jeong Hwang-geun of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who recommended the president exercise the veto based on this," and added, "The National Assembly's plenary session to be held tomorrow must proceed with a re-vote on the amendment to the Grain Management Act, and we strongly urge the People Power Party to also vote in favor."

After the press conference regarding the expected re-vote on the Grain Management Act tomorrow, Democratic Party members of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee met with reporters and said, "Among ruling party members, we will encourage and hope for conscientious votes from members representing rural and fishing areas." Regarding future responses, they said, "If the bill is rejected, we will discuss with various experts whether to create an alternative as a party stance or whether lawmakers will individually legislate, which will be discussed later."

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