Audit Disrupted from the Start over Picket Battle; Rival Parties Slam Farmland Survey

[Anchor]

At the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the ruling and opposition parties clashed head-on over the government's comprehensive survey of farmland. The audit was disrupted from the start by a dispute surrounding President Lee Jae-myung's remarks on "solar farming," and even after the session resumed, lawmakers from both sides unleashed fierce criticism.

Jeong Seong-jin reports.

[Reporter]

Picket signs reading "Driving out farmers just for solar power?" were posted across the seats of People Power Party lawmakers.

They targeted President Lee Jae-myung's remarks on October 6 that repurposing farmland for solar energy projects could yield several times more income.

In response, the Democratic Party demanded the removal of the signs, arguing that they distorted the purpose of the comprehensive farmland survey, which led to the audit being suspended about 30 minutes after it began.

When the session resumed, the People Power Party this time took aim at President Lee's remarks made during a cabinet meeting last February.

[Lee Seong-gweon / People Power Party Lawmaker: I believe the one spreading baseless rumors is the president. Is it true that the price of fields nearly abandoned in mountain valleys is 200,000 to 300,000 won?]

They argued that pushing forward with the comprehensive survey based on mistaken perceptions has exacerbated harm to farmers at a time when farmland prices and transaction volumes have already been declining for years.

Security concerns during the survey process were also brought under scrutiny.

Chinese-made drones were used to film farmland, and Russian-made software was used for video processing, yet a proper security review was reportedly not conducted.

[Kim Yong-tae / People Power Party Lawmaker: Isn't it a very dangerous idea to skip a security review due to budget issues while collecting national land data and building a database?]

[Song Mi-ryung / Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: We (are managing) to ensure that the collected data is not transmitted externally.]

Lawmakers from the ruling party also pointed out the ministry's lack of preparation and inadequate on-site response, demanding an apology from the minister.

There were also calls to shift the survey's focus to land suspected of speculation.

[Lee Gae-ho / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Do you have any willingness to make a major shift in the comprehensive farmland survey to focus on speculative land in the capital region?]

[Song Mi-ryung / Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: We will look into it.]

While acknowledging the lack of preparation, Minister Song stated that customary violations are not subject to penalties, adding that the government will overhaul the outdated farmland regulations through a special act and amendments to the Farmland Act.

(Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Won Hyeong-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.