President Lee Says Agriculture and Livestock Sectors Face Concessions in FTAs, Calls for Compensation Efforts

President Lee Jae-myung emphasized that the agriculture and livestock sectors are often required to make concessions when Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are signed, and that the government must make efforts to offset these losses.
During a briefing by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and other agencies held at the Blue House today (July 16), President Lee stated, "As economic orders change, there are groups that benefit and groups that suffer losses."
He explained, "We previously created a 1 trillion won mutual growth fund following the signing of FTAs. This 1 trillion won is a very small amount to begin with, and I am told that only about 300 billion won has been raised."
President Lee remarked, "For instance, we should have ensured it by requiring a certain percentage of export revenue to be contributed or by mandating contributions from companies, but it seems we left it to good faith."
He added, "It seems necessary to ensure compensation by having export companies that benefit from these agreements contribute a portion of their export revenue."
The implication is that since exports increase due to the effects of FTA signings, it is necessary to utilize those gains to compensate for the losses in the agriculture and livestock sectors to some extent.
President Lee also proposed, "Since we promised 1 trillion won in compensation to farmers, shouldn't the government also take responsibility? This is a matter of government credibility." He added, "If there is a shortfall of about 700 billion won, and given that tax revenue conditions are relatively stable, it would be good to devise a plan for the government to take responsibility instead."
He suggested a plan for the government to cover the deficit.
President Lee ordered that discussions be held with farmers' organizations and other relevant groups regarding the specific details.
During today's briefing, opinions were also exchanged on the status of the plan to establish a new Animal Welfare Promotion Agency.
President Lee emphasized, "This was also one of my presidential campaign pledges. While it may be burdensome to create a new agency while we are consolidating public institutions, it seems to be a necessary organization. Since the decision has already been made, let us proceed quickly."
(Photo: Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.