[National Audit] Minister Song Mi-ryung officially apologizes amid confusion over farmland survey’s ‘2.84 million plots suspected of violations’

In the basic survey of 1.36 million hectares of farmland acquired since 1996, farmland classified as suspected of violations amounted to 2.84 million plots (27.0%).  As the survey results became known and anxiety over ‘farmland confiscation’ spread through rural communities, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung acknowledged the lack of preparation and officially apologized at the national audit on October 7.

The National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee held a national audit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and its affiliated agencies at the National Assembly that day. The audit began with ruling and opposition parties clashing after People Power Party lawmakers attached placards to their laptops reading ‘Is driving out farmers ultimately for solar power?’, and substantive questioning began only after the placards were removed.

 

Ruling and opposition parties criticize comprehensive farmland survey…Minister Song: “Entirely the minister’s oversight”

Criticism of the comprehensive farmland survey came from both ruling and opposition parties. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi pressed whether the effects on farmland prices, collateral loans, and leases had been reviewed before the president ordered the survey, and Minister Song replied that there had been no direct prior consultation with the president, saying “it is true there were also unexpected problems”.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Gae-ho asked, “Do you have any plan to confiscate farmers’ land?” and then reprimanded the government for failing to provide proper explanations until rumors had spread. In response to a proposal to change the survey method to focus on uncultivated farmland and speculative farmland in the Seoul metropolitan area, Minister Song said, “I will look into it”, and to People Power Party lawmaker Cho Seung-hwan’s demand that the survey be halted and a special measures act be created first, she said, “There is merit to that”.

In response to questioning by Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Shin Jang-sik, Minister Song said, “I naturally feel responsible for the parts I did wrong”, and when Democratic Party lawmaker Joo Cheol-hyun again pointed out insufficient preparation during the third round of questioning, she said, “The failure to prepare more carefully was entirely the minister’s oversight” and “I deeply apologize for causing confusion to farmers”. However, she maintained the principle that violations in the field caused by old age, inheritance, illness and the like would not be subject to disposal orders, and that most customary violations would be legalized through a special measures act the ministry is seeking to enact within the year.

 Controversy over falling farmland prices and Farmland Bank purchase prices ‘at bargain-basement levels’ 

The effectiveness of follow-up measures also came under scrutiny. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kwon claimed that nationwide farmland prices had fallen 35.6% from 2022 to July this year, while Minister Song countered that it was part of a downward trend continuing since 2021. Lawmaker Kang Seung-kyu of the same party raised suspicions of ‘bargain-basement purchases’ , saying the budget was drawn up so that the Farmland Bank would purchase disposed farmland next year at 308 million won per hectare, which is about 30% lower than the existing average purchase price of 437.59 million won. Minister Song acknowledged that although the Farmland Bank budget had been increased by 25% , she “also knows it is not sufficient”.

 

CPTPP accession to be reviewed from square one…rice is a “super-sensitive item”

In her opening remarks, Minister Song said restoring trust with the agricultural community was the priority and that discussions on joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP) would be reviewed from square one.

Asked by lawmaker Lee Gae-ho whether this included the option of not joining, she answered, “For now, absolutely nothing has been decided”. Since the average agricultural tariff elimination rate among member countries reaches 96.3%, she also said that, unlike Japan (76.2%), a founding member, Korea as a new applicant would “probably be asked for the highest level of liberalization”. Regarding rice, she reaffirmed the principle of top-priority protection, saying it is “truly a super-sensitive item for us”. Lee Sang-hwi said the ministry in charge had been ‘bypassed’ , noting that the agriculture minister was absent from a CPTPP agricultural experts’ meeting hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in September, and urged the ministry to properly represent the agricultural community’s position. 

Rural and fishing-village basic income to expand to 35 counties…local-government cost burden at issue

The pilot project for basic income in rural and fishing communities, which will expand to 35 counties next year, made the local-government cost burden a key issue. Although the national-government share will rise from 40% to 50%, Lee Seong-kwon pointed out that the financial independence ratio of basic local governments in the pilot regions is only 8.7% and that some counties are financing the project by cutting even health, safety, and agricultural competitiveness budgets. Minister Song said she would review raising the national cost-sharing rate, providing differentiated support according to distance from the Seoul metropolitan area, and a fund-based approach, and also answered that she would look into Joo Cheol-hyun’s proposal that the state take charge of the basic payments.

 

Sugar cartel companies apologize…debate also over dissolution of laying hen association

In the afternoon witness questioning, CJ CheilJedang CEO Kim Chan-ho and Samyang Corp. CEO Lee Woon-ik, who had been sanctioned for collusion over raw materials including sugar, bowed their heads. Kim said, “On behalf of the company, I bow my head and apologize to the public”, and explained measures to prevent recurrence, including withdrawal from the association and blocking contact with competitors, while Lee said, “Although we are a company receiving support from the government and the National Assembly, we failed to uphold trust, and we are truly sorry”. Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Joon-byeong, who requested the witnesses, said the ministry’s supervisory responsibility should also be examined, as it had provided the industries with stabilization funds and tariff-rate quota benefits.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Mi-ae criticized the dissolution of the laying hen association as “a coercive process carried out with the conclusion already decided”, while Minister Song countered that the measure was taken because the association had repeatedly violated establishment requirements prohibiting price announcements. In addition, Democratic Party lawmaker Song Ok-joo pointed out that, of this year’s 426.7 billion won in discount support for agricultural and livestock products, 69.8 billion won (16.4%) was concentrated at E-Mart alone, and lawmaker Moon Dae-lim of the same party said slaughterhouse electricity rates are charged as industrial use, increasing the burden, and called for agricultural-use electricity rates to be applied.