The amendment to the Grain Management Act, which had been discarded during Yoon Suk-yeol's administration due to the exercise of the right to demand reconsideration (veto), along with the amendment to the 'Act on Distribution and Price Stabilization of Agricultural and Fishery Products' (Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act), passed through the Agriculture. Food. Rural Affairs. Oceans. and Fisheries Committee in the National Assembly on the 29th. The Grain Management Act aims to establish and implement measures for stabilizing the supply and demand of grains, including purchasing when rice prices fall. The key content of the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act amendment is to legislate the 'price stabilization system for agricultural and fishery products' in which the government compensates part of the price difference when the price of agricultural and fishery products falls below a certain standard.
On the same day at 4 p.m., the Agriculture. Food. Rural Affairs. Oceans. and Fisheries Committee held a plenary meeting and voted on the Grain Management Act and the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act, approving them with a show of hands. Out of 17 members present, the Grain Management Act received 16 votes in favor and 1 against, while the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act received 15 votes in favor, 1 against, and 1 abstention. The People Power Party expressed support for the Grain Management Act during the subcommittee review process and abstained on the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act, but at the plenary meeting, a majority of lawmakers switched to a supportive stance.
The People Power Party, which opposed the bill in the previous administration, noted, "The government prepared proactive supply and demand management and post-action plans, which softened the bill compared to the previous one," expressing their support.
Jeong Hee-yong, a member of the People Power Party and the opposition party's secretary in the Agriculture. Food. Rural Affairs. Oceans. and Fisheries Committee, stated before the bill vote, "The amendments to the Grain Management Act and the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act have been significantly softened compared to when the veto was exercised in the past to allow for proactive supply and demand management and recognition of government discretion. If the previous government had also adopted a flexible approach, it could have been processed quickly for the benefit of agriculture and farmers."
Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who had suggested exercising the veto on the two bills during Yoon Suk-yeol's administration, said, "At the time of the previous demand for reconsideration, we raised issues about production concentration phenomena. The results indicated that supporting only the five major vegetables under the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act would cost 1.5 trillion won. This would rather destabilize the supply and demand for agricultural and fishery products, and farmers cultivating other vegetables would not be guaranteed support, so we could not accept this law." She continued, "However, the current bill resolves that problem. It establishes proactive supply and demand management and post-action measures, allowing farmers to receive compensation for production costs based on standard prices."
The passed amendment to the Grain Management Act allows the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to establish supply and demand plans for grains and includes the establishment of a grain supply management committee to deliberate on important matters related to grain supply and demand policies. It also stipulates that, when the price of rice falls below a certain standard or when there is excess production, the grain supply management committee must establish and implement supply stabilization measures, including purchasing, based on its deliberation results. The provision for the government to buy when rice prices fall below a certain standard or excess production occurs has been transferred to the amendment to the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act.
The amendment to the Agricultural Products Price Stabilization Act requires the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to establish annual supply and demand plans for agricultural and fishery products and operate a price stabilization system that provides all or part of the difference between the average price and the standard price for targeted items such as grains, vegetables, and fish to agricultural and fishery producers.
Regarding the contentious 'price support,' it has been stipulated to calculate using the 'standard price.' The existing Democratic Party proposal supported the difference based on the 'average market price over the last five years,' but this amendment adjusts the standard to the 'average market price of the current year' and reflects 'production costs and supply and demand conditions' in the calculation of the standard price. Additionally, the existing Democratic Party proposal specified the baseline price used for the difference calculation as 'fair price,' but this amendment changed it to 'standard price' in response to criticism that it was 'an inappropriate expression.'
The standard price will be determined by presidential decree and will involve separate service and surveys to reflect the characteristics of each item. A one-year grace period is set for the enforcement of the law. Production costs have been defined as a comprehensive concept that includes both direct and indirect costs.
On the same day, the Agriculture. Food. Rural Affairs. Oceans. and Fisheries Committee also passed a resolution calling for the prevention of damage to the domestic agricultural and livestock industry and the securing of food security due to U.S.-Korea trade.