Korea executes 27% of FTA support budget for farmers

South Korea has already spent about 27 percent of its budget assigned to help farmers whose business might suffer due to the influx of cheaper produce from the U.S. under the recently approved free trade agreement (FTA) between the two nations, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

The ruling Grand National Party here rammed the long-pending FTA through parliament on Tuesday against fierce objection by opposition lawmakers, who claim that it favors the U.S.

The accord was signed in 2007 and was modified late last year, with minor modifications that mostly deal with the auto industry. The U.S. ratified the deal last month.

In late 2007, the government unveiled 21.1 trillion won ($18.2 billion) worth of measures to support farming and other industries feared to be affected by the free trade deal. The total was raised by 1 trillion won in August of this year.

It said of the 22.1 trillion won set aside, the government has spent about 6 trillion won, or 27 percent, in the 2008-2011 period.

In 2008, 1.3 trillion won was used for the purpose, while 1.4 trillion won, 1.6 trillion won and 1.6 trillion won were used to help the agriculture sector in the following three years, the ministry said. The money has been spent mostly to improve farming facilities and infrastructure.

For next year, the government set aside 1.86 trillion won in its budget to help domestic farmers, according to the ministry.

“The size of FTA support measures reflected in next year‘s budget is the largest ever,” a ministry official said. (Yonhap News)