The Democratic Party of Korea and the government discussed a supplementary budget bill for the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, a direct election amendment for the NongHyup central union head, and a full survey of farmland. The party and government agreed to continue cooperating on structural tasks such as NongHyup reform and the full farmland survey along with the supplementary budget.
The Democratic Party of Korea and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held a "2026 agriculture and fisheries supplementary budget party–government consultation" at the National Assembly on the morning of the 1st and reviewed related pending issues. Lawmaker Yoon Joon-byung, who serves as the Democratic Party's agriculture and fisheries policy coordination chair, said regarding the supplementary budget, "It is necessary to check whether the budget needed for farmers and fishers has been sufficiently reflected," adding, "The budget that must be included should be properly reflected."
Minister Song Mi-ryung of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, "With the Middle East war, internal and external conditions are quite difficult," adding, "We newly drew up a supplementary budget plan totaling 265.8 billion won to minimize damage in the agriculture sector." Minister Song said, "We focused on easing the burden on farms due to disruptions in urea supply and higher prices of tax-free fuel for agriculture, stabilizing grocery prices, and reducing logistics burdens for K-food export corporations." Minister Hwang Jong-woo of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries also said, "We allocated a total of 91.9 billion won to five projects," adding, "Through fuel cost support for the coastal shipping industry, expanded seafood discounts, and expanded export vouchers for seafood products, we will seek to ease the burden of high oil prices, stabilize livelihoods, and minimize industrial damage."
The discussion on this day also took up the direct election system for the NongHyup central union head. The Minister said, "Based on the discussions of the NongHyup reform task force, we will prepare additional institutional improvement measures by June," adding, "It is also true that there are concerns arising from strengthening the chair's authority." The Minister continued, "If we strengthen the board's check-and-balance function and normalize the audit function, we will be able to minimize side effects." The Minister also said, "Based on the task force's discussions, we also plan to review fundamental measures to enhance roles such as revitalizing NongHyup's economic projects and strengthening the competitiveness of local cooperatives."
In addition, the Minister, regarding the full survey of farmland, said, "There have been continued points that we must eradicate speculation in farmland so that farmland can be properly used for farmers and fishers," adding, "We will use this opportunity to conduct a rigorous full survey and establish an effective farmland management system." The Minister continued, "We plan to update the entire farmland database to use for institutional improvements," adding, "We will survey all farmland in two phases and build the database based on the results."
The Minister also said, "We plan to take strong measures against farmland where illegal acts are detected," adding, "We will not stop at simple detection and administrative dispositions but will also pursue fundamental institutional improvements for systematic farmland management."