The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has continuously expanded low-rate tariff quotas (TRQ) to lower agricultural prices, increasing imports of rice, garlic, and onions. This has weakened the domestic agricultural foundation and proven ineffective at stabilizing agricultural prices. Imported rice is primarily used for processing by large food corporations, leading to decreased domestic rice production. Despite South Korea's rice self-sufficiency rate being below 100%, the government continues to increase rice imports, which could result in reduced farmer incomes and threats to food security. While Japan uses 70% of its imported rice as animal feed, South Korea uses only around 3%. The Yoon administration is pursuing policies to reduce rice cultivation areas and decreasing rice production without preparing for climate change. This could threaten long-term food security and worsen farmers' economic difficulties. In conclusion, the Yoon administration's agricultural policies are weakening the domestic agricultural foundation and threatening food security. Rather than reducing rice production, there is a need for farmer support and sustainable agricultural development measures.
