South Korea’s newly-appointed Agriculture Minister Kim Jae-soo pledged to swiftly address the pressing issues facing the country’s agricultural sector in his first official appearance before the press on Tuesday.
“The industry’s top priorities as of now are stabilizing rice prices, dealing with the negative impacts of the new antigraft law and fortifying the country‘s reservoirs to better withstand earthquakes,” Kim told reporters during a press meeting held in Sejong City.
“We have created an emergency task force to deal with falling rice prices (due to a supply glut during the harvesting season) and also are cooperating with related stakeholders (such as farmers and food retailers) to minimize the potential damages that the antigraft law would pose on their businesses.”
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Agriculture Minister Kim Jae-soo (Yonhap) |
The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act — colloquially known as the Kim Young-ran law — rules that civils servants, elected officials, journalists and private education officials cannot receive free meals, presents and monetary gifts beyond certain price limits.
The legislation, which takes effect on Sept. 28, had kindled backlash among local cattle growers, fruit farmers, fishermen and small business owners who asserted that the law would dampen their businesses, particularly during the peak gift-giving holidays.
Moreover, the minister said he has taken particular care to address the cracks on reservoir structures that have resulted from the magnitude-4.5 earthquake that struck areas near the southeastern city of Gyeongju last week.
“Damages to reservoirs can be detrimental to the structures and the people nearby since such large bodies of water, when suddenly released, could literally cause a flood,” he said, vowing to make continued efforts to fortify the country’s reservoir structures, many of which are aging without due maintenance.
Kim, the former CEO of the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., or aT, was appointed to his post last Wednesday amid lingering controversy.
His appointment had sparked objections from opposition parties that the minister was unfit for the job given his alleged ethical lapses in the past such as taking advantage of his position to receive financial favors for real estate transactions — charges that the minster has since refuted.
Despite criticisms, he made his National Assembly debut on Tuesday by attending his first plenary session in front of incumbent lawmakers.
Looking ahead, Kim outlined his long-term vision for Korea’s agricultural industry, which includes plans to establish a tailored agriculture model for Korea and build up more trust between the government and the industry to improve governance efficiency.
Among other agendas, the minister said he would raise farmers’ earnings by minimizing unnecessary costs involved in the farming, delivery and retail processes as well as channel more investment for the development of high-value agricultural products to raise Korea’s international competitiveness in the segment.
“Having spent some 40 years in the industry, I will address my post as my last chance to address marginalized issues and to build up a strong basis for the advancement of the Korean agricultural industry into the country’s future engine,” Kim said.
By Sohn Ji-young (
jys@heraldcorp.com)
