Plenary Session to Revote on the 'Grain Management Act'... Opposition "Must Pass Today" vs Ruling Party "Cooperation Missing" (Summary)

On the 13th, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement during a meeting of floor leaders and decided to prioritize a vote on the amended Grain Management Act in the National Assembly plenary session. The Democratic Party proposed a 'motion to change the agenda' to push for a re-vote on the Grain Management Act amendment, which had not been tabled due to opposition from the People Power Party.

The National Assembly held a plenary session in the afternoon and began the voting procedure on the amendment to the Grain Management Act, which mandates the government to compulsorily purchase surplus rice production.

The Democratic Party stated its intention to ensure the passage of the Grain Management Act amendment, which was returned to the National Assembly after President Yoon Seok-yeol exercised his veto, during the plenary session.

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at a party meeting held before the plenary session, "There is no reason to delay the re-vote on the Grain Management Act," adding, "Bills returned to the National Assembly after the president exercises a veto must undergo a re-vote according to the procedures stipulated by the National Assembly Act." He continued, "The Grain Management Act is supported by 60% of the public," and criticized, "If this issue, which concerns the livelihood of farmers, is dragged into political strife to waste time, it means failing to fulfill the legislature's fundamental duties. This is a clear dereliction of responsibility."

Park urged, "Since the president exercised the veto, it is natural that the bill be submitted to the plenary session and voted on according to the procedures of the Constitution and the National Assembly Act. What reason is there to delay this?" and called on the Democratic Party to vote in favor as a party line.

The People Power Party strongly opposed the Democratic Party's push to forcibly pass the Grain Management Act. Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, raised his voice after a party meeting in the afternoon, saying, "Such National Assembly operations that throw away the basic cooperation of parliamentary politics must no longer continue."

During the plenary session that day, lawmakers from both parties engaged in fierce debate ahead of the re-vote on the Grain Management Act. Kim Seung-nam, a Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized, "President Yoon calls the Grain Management Act, which is the minimum safety net to prevent the collapse of rice prices, a typical populist bill, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo describes it as a 'forced purchase law for surplus rice' that goes against market principles," adding, "This is a law to normalize rice prices to prevent a recurrence of the rice price collapse. How can this be labeled as populism?" He emphasized, "We must create an era of democratization of rice so that farmers can have decision-making power over rice prices, which are currently controlled by the fiscal authorities," and urged, "Please definitely vote in favor of the re-vote on the Grain Management Act today."

On the other hand, Park Deok-heum, a People Power Party lawmaker, pointed out, "The government predicts that rice farming will increase significantly if the mandatory government purchase of rice is implemented," and warned, "This will ultimately increase the government's financial burden for rice purchases and may cause issues of fairness with other crops." He added, "There are opinions that government purchases and expanded support are also needed for Korean beef, ginseng farms, and beekeeping farms, which are suffering from increased production costs and price collapses. In that case, will the Democratic Party also create laws such as the Ginseng Management Act, Korean Beef Management Act, and Beekeeping Management Act?" He questioned, "The government has an obligation to strive for fairness to increase the income of all farmers responsible for the nation's food supply, regardless of the type of crops they cultivate."

Park said, "Therefore, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration promised to implement a strategic crop direct payment system to encourage rice farmers to switch to other crops as rice consumption gradually decreases, and to expand the agricultural direct payment system to guarantee farm income," and criticized, "Nevertheless, the Democratic Party, which opposed the government's mandatory rice purchase due to fiscal burdens even when it was the ruling party, is now unilaterally pushing it through as the opposition."

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