Farmers from the National Federation of Farmers’ Associations hold a press conference in front of the main gate of the headquarters of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do. yunhap news
The National Assembly is reviewing a plan to include farmers and fishermen as the target of the 4th disaster subsidy payment, centering on the ruling party. LH’s employees were angry with the illegal dumping of farmland. It is pointed out that the purpose of the additional remedial budget plan (additional supplementary), which decided to selectively pay the disaster subsidies, is fading.
According to politics on the 12th, the Democratic Party’s Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, Ocean and Fisheries Committee (Agricultural, Marine and Fishery) recently demanded an additional increase of 1,3042 trillion won in the name of disaster support for farmers and fishermen. If the government reflects the project, the existing KRW 1.95 trillion is expected to exceed 20 trillion won.
Among the disaster subsidies for farmers and fishermen submitted by the ruling party, the disaster subsidy for farmers was the largest at 1.07 trillion won. This is the content of providing 1 million won per household to 17,000 farmers (2245,000 people). It proposed 51 billion won and 80 billion won for support for fishermen and foresters, respectively.
In the increase plan, the contents of support for the labor cost of farmers were also included. This is because the burden of hiring high-wage domestic workers was inevitable in farms when foreign workers were restricted from entering the country in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). The ruling party insisted on providing 54 billion won to farm households with an estimated 10,000 foreign workers.
Seo Sam-seok, the secretary of the Democratic Party, along with the Agricultural and Marine Water Supervisory Service, explained, “We considered the fact that farmers and fishermen were virtually excluded from the 31.4 trillion won in disaster assistance that was paid three times in the aftermath of Corona 19.”
Previously, the ruling party insisted that additional support should be given to flower farmers who suffered damage due to cancellations of graduation and admission ceremonies, and those who suffered losses due to the suspension of school meals and reduced consumption of eco-friendly agricultural products. However, this proposal is to go one step further from the previous arguments and release subsidies for all farmers and fishermen.
Regarding farmers and fishermen, not only the ruling party but also the opposition party should consider providing disaster subsidies. Farmers and fishermen are the’Pop-Shim (票心) Management Target’ that appears regularly every election season. You are not a direct voter in the Seoul-Busan mayoral by-election. However, it is analyzed that it is the nature of catching public sentiment in a situation where public opinion has deteriorated due to the problem of real estate speculation for LH employees. President Moon Jae-in also gave strength on the 10th, saying, “If there is no disagreement between the ruling and the opposition party on the issue of adding farmers to the subsidy, I will instruct them to reflect it.”
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance is in a negative position. This is because it is not appropriate to discuss the increase in the amount less than ten days after the draft was issued to the National Assembly through consultations with the party government. They were also concerned that the purpose of screening support was fading and the financial burden would increase. An official from the Ministry of Science and Technology said, “We are not considering additional support for farmers and fishermen.”
Sejong = Reporter Kihwan Kim [email protected]
