A bill requiring the government to take measures in case rice prices fall or rise sharply passed through a parliamentary committee controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday, even though President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed a similar bill last year.
The DP unilaterally passed the revision to the Grain Management Act through the parliamentary agriculture, food, rural affairs, oceans and fisheries committee, while the ruling People Power Party boycotted the vote in protest.
The legislation requires the government to take measures, such as buying surplus rice or releasing government stocks, if rice prices fall or rise sharply. It is a toned-down version of a similar bill that Yoon rejected and was ultimately scrapped last year.
Since Yoon’s veto, the DP has vowed to push forward a new version of the bill.
Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung expressed “deep regrets” over Thursday’s passage, saying the government has opposed the bill due to concerns that state intervention in the market coul
d cause side effects, such as overproduction or a fall in prices.
Source: Yonhap News Agency