Minister Jeong Hwang-geun, who claimed to be a 'local agricultural product salesperson'... Surprising promotion of Hadong pear juice and fruit chips at the Cabinet meeting

Minister Jeong: "I want to personally run to anywhere nationwide"
Hadong-gun Venture Agriculture Association formed by young farmers who returned to farming... Jointly developing sales channels
With increasing success stories, 1,323 people returned to farming and rural areas in Hadong-gun this year alone

Jeong Hwang-geun, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, promoted rural areas on the 21st by presenting beverages and snacks such as pear juice and fruit chips made by young farmers from Hadong, Gyeongnam, as gifts to the Prime Minister and ministers attending the Cabinet meeting. The purpose was to personally introduce 'hidden excellent products' that are not sufficiently known to the public and to appeal for support and interest.

Minister Jeong explained, "The Cabinet meeting is the highest national decision-making body and a place where media attention is focused," adding, "I want to actively promote our agricultural and food products to the attendees of the Cabinet meeting to provide direct help to local communities that have lost vitality due to population decline." He continued, "To address the government's current issue of people's livelihood, we must first break away from solemnity," emphasizing, "If it can help farmers open up sales channels even a little, I want to personally run anywhere in the country, not just the Cabinet meeting room."

Before the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and other Cabinet members tasted Hadong food products recommended by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and supported the minister's active efforts and Hadong-gun products. Prime Minister Han said, "The weather has gotten colder, and drinking pear juice seems good for preventing colds," and urged, "Please make efforts to spread excellent cases of coexistence and cooperation with local small-scale and small farmers, such as the Hadong-gun Venture Agriculture Association, to revitalize the local economy." Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "I feel the passion of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to promote excellent agricultural and food products," and added, "I will also actively participate in widely promoting the excellence of our agricultural products."

The food introduced by Minister Jeong that day was a product of a member company of the Hadong-gun Venture Agriculture Association in Gyeongnam, certified as a 'Rural Convergence Industry Business Operator' by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Established in 2008, the Hadong-gun Venture Agriculture Association is a group of young farmers who returned to farming. Based on strong bonds, they jointly develop sales channels and support each other's growth, while also purchasing, processing, and selling agricultural products from farms suffering from price collapses, thereby coexisting with local farms.

One of the representative success cases is 'Eco Mom's Mountain Village Baby Food,' a baby food manufacturer. CEO Oh Cheon-ho (41) decided to return to farming after graduating from university and running a porridge business in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, while planning a business in Hadong. Remembering a customer's request to "please do not season the baby food," he returned to his hometown Hadong and grew a venture company with annual sales of 20 billion won.

As successful cases like CEO Oh's increase, 817 households and 1,118 people returned to farming and rural areas in Hadong-gun last year. This year, about 1,086 households and 1,323 people from outside settled there by the third quarter. A Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs official explained, "Successful venture companies are increasing, such as the Slow Food Agricultural Corporation famous for pear juice, Hadong Yullim Agricultural Cooperative Corporation popular for premium roasted chestnuts, and People Who Make Luck, which developed frozen gimbap for the first time and exports it," adding, "Not only the farming income of elderly local farmers but also local agricultural cooperative deposits and local post office parcel volumes are increasing, revitalizing the entire region." Hadong-gun, with a population of 42,000, exported $14.3 million worth of agricultural and food products last year, a 3.2-fold increase from $4.5 million in 2014.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Cabinet members are attending the 'Promoting Our Agricultural Products' event held on the 21st in the Cabinet Members' Waiting Room at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun is introducing snacks made from agricultural products from Hadong, Gyeongnam. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

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