FTA Arrives, Farmers Wiped Out, Yet the Council of Agriculture Stays Calm: "Boiling a Frog in Warm Water"
News Market (News Market) recently noted in the article "Korea Today, Taiwan Tomorrow? The Korea-US FTA Is the Nail in the Coffin of Korean Agriculture!" that once the Korea-US FTA took effect, it would deal a massive blow to Korean agriculture and also sparked a rising wave of backlash from farmers. Under intense pressure from the public, the Korean government proposed related supporting measures in the hope of minimizing the impact.
According to an analysis in a comprehensive report by 10 government research institutes, including the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), after the Korea-US FTA took effect, it is estimated that over the next 15 years it will cause losses of 12 trillion 6,683 billion Korean won (about 327.5 billion New Taiwan dollars) to Korean agriculture, with the livestock industry hit hardest.
Accordingly, the Korean government declared that by 2017 it would raise 22 trillion 1,000 billion Korean won, equivalent to 630 billion New Taiwan dollars, as response funds and supporting measures to support agricultural losses. In addition to subsidies, its methods place greater emphasis on improving the structure of agriculture and fisheries and enhancing competitiveness, hoping to reduce the impact of imported agricultural products. (See the summary below.)
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Korea Today, Taiwan Tomorrow? The Korea-US FTA Is the Nail in the Coffin of Korean Agriculture!