Yoon Approaches Veto Deadline on Grain Management Act... Democratic Party Launches 'Relay Shaving' Full-Scale Offensive (Comprehensive)

The exercise of the presidential veto by President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 'Amendment to the Grain Management Act,' which was passed in the National Assembly plenary session led by the Democratic Party of Korea, has effectively entered the final countdown. The Democratic Party plans to launch an all-out offensive, including a head-shaving protest and joining hands with representatives of farmers, and intends to enforce the Grain Management Act through re-proposal of the amendment if the presidential veto is exercised. The presidential office has stated that since public opinion has been somewhat consolidated, it will handle the matter within an appropriate timeframe and will respond according to the principles and policy direction of state administration even if additional amendments are re-proposed in the future.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, an amendment to the Act on the Management of Grain was approved at the plenary session held at the National Assembly.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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According to the presidential office on the 3rd, if President Yoon follows the procedure of requesting reconsideration of the amendment to the Grain Management Act at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for the 4th, he is expected to approve it and send it back to the National Assembly.

On the 23rd, officials are checking the condition of rice, including temperature and humidity, at a public rice reserve storage warehouse in Cheongju, Chungbuk. [Image source=Yonhap News]

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So far, President Yoon has expressed a 'non-acceptance' stance on the amendment to the Grain Management Act. He showed opposition during door-stepping (morning Q&A) and work reports last year, and at the Cabinet meeting he presided over on the 28th of last month, after receiving concerns about the amendment from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun, he said, "I respect the opinions of the Cabinet members."

The presidential office also considers the process of gathering public opinion on the amendment to the Grain Management Act to be complete. According to a presidential office official, all petitions submitted by farmers' organizations to the presidential office and others have been reviewed. The petitions submitted by the farmers' organizations included concerns about the side effects of the president's veto exercise as well as calls for the establishment of policies to strengthen agricultural competitiveness.

If President Yoon exercises the veto on the Grain Management Act amendment, it will be the first use of the veto since the government was launched in May last year. It will also be the first time in about seven years since then-President Park Geun-hye exercised a veto on the National Assembly Act amendment, which focused on holding 'permanent hearings' in the National Assembly standing committees in May 2016.

In response, the Democratic Party has launched an all-out counterattack. Centered on members of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, they are continuing a 'head-shaving protest' while pressuring the government and ruling party through nationwide signature campaigns and condemnation rallies. Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, criticized at the on-site Supreme Council meeting in Jeju in the morning, saying, "President Yoon Seok-yeol now sees the Grain Management Act not as legislation for farmers and people's livelihood but solely as a means of confrontation with the opposition party," and added, "If the president once empathizes with the desperate hearts of farmers, he would never do this."

At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, Democratic Party members launched a relentless offensive, arguing that the government and ruling party's claims for the veto lack grounds. The Democratic Party will hold a condemnation rally in the afternoon against the presidential veto exercise, attended by representatives of farmers. In particular, members of the Democratic Party, including Shin Jeong-hoon, head of the Rice Price Normalization Task Force, and farmer representatives plan to hold a head-shaving ceremony. Earlier, Yoon Jae-gap, chairman of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, had shaved his head at a condemnation rally against the humiliating diplomacy of importing Fukushima seafood held at the National Assembly the previous morning.

The Democratic Party is also determined to enforce the Grain Management Act by re-proposing the bill if the president exercises the veto. The presidential office has stated that it will respond according to principles, so a political deadlock seems inevitable. A senior presidential office official said, "Even if the bill is re-proposed and reconsidered, we will maintain choices based on the policy direction of state administration, law, and principles," and added that they will continue to inform the reality that the current method of the government unconditionally purchasing rice produced regardless of market absorption capacity is of no help.

However, the fact that bills inconsistent with the government's policy direction, such as the Broadcasting Act amendment and the Yellow Envelope Act, are lined up following the Grain Management Act amendment is considered a variable. The Broadcasting Act amendment is currently directly referred to the plenary session, and the 'Yellow Envelope Act' is highly likely to be passed unilaterally. These are all contentious bills expected to be vetoed by President Yoon, and there is a risk that the president could be criticized for ignoring the legislative authority of the National Assembly by asserting his inherent powers.

A presidential office official said, "The government will listen to the positions of related organizations on all policies and make comprehensive judgments," expressing the position on concerns about a series of veto exercises. He added, "For bills processed unilaterally without (ruling and opposition party) agreement, the party and government will jointly review and filter out all unconstitutional elements and issues concerning people's livelihood."

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