[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 ongoing comprehensive survey of farmland. The session was disrupted from the start by heated clashes over President Lee Jae-myung's remarks on "solar farming," and sharp rebukes from both sides continued even after the audit resumed.

Jeong Seong-jin reports.

[Reporter]

Placards reading "Are farmers being driven out just for solar power?" were displayed at the seats of People Power Party lawmakers.

The signs targeted remarks made yesterday (October 6) by President Lee Jae-myung, who suggested that converting farmland to solar power 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, leading to the audit being suspended just about 30 minutes after it began.

Once the audit resumed, the People Power Party took aim at remarks President Lee made during a Cabinet meeting last February.

[Lee Seong-gwon / People Power Party lawmaker: I believe the one spreading rumors is the president himself. Is it true that plots of land virtually abandoned in mountain valleys cost 200,000 to 300,000 won?]

The opposition argued that pushing ahead with the comprehensive survey based on flawed perceptions—while farmland prices and transaction volumes have already been falling for years—has only worsened the harm to farmers.

Security issues during the investigation process were also called into question.

Chinese-made drones were used to capture aerial footage of farmland, and Russian-made software was used to process the images, drawing criticism that proper security reviews were never conducted.

[Kim Yong-tae / People Power Party lawmaker: Isn't it extremely dangerous to skip security evaluations due to budget issues when collecting national land information and building a database?]

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

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

Calls were also made to shift the focus of the investigation toward farmland suspected of real estate speculation.

[Lee Gae-ho / Democratic Party lawmaker: Are you willing 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: I will look into it.]

While acknowledging the lack of preparation, Minister Song stated that customary violations would not be subject to penalties, and announced plans to overhaul outdated farmland regulations through a special act and revisions to the Farmland Act.

Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Won Hyeong-hee