"Unavoidable": President Lee courts farmers and fishers on the Pacific trade pact – scepticism remains
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung hosted around 110 farmers and fishers in Seoul and told them that joining the trans-Pacific trade agreement CPTPP is unavoidable. He promises higher direct payments – but in the countryside and along the coasts, worries about fish, rice and land remain strong.
What happened
On Monday, Lee held a "Dialogue with Farmers and Fishers" at the Cheong Wa Dae presidential compound. According to Hankook Ilbo, he called CPTPP membership frustrating but unavoidable: as an export-dependent country, Korea must open new markets and cannot live on semiconductors alone, nor on agriculture alone. The government will not file an application this year; since all twelve members must agree, accession will probably not be completed within his term.
As compensation, Lee held out the prospect of higher public direct payments. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, farms currently receive about 5.19 million won on average – far less than in Japan, Europe or the US. He also floated a levy on industry to benefit agriculture and fisheries.
The second flashpoint was a nationwide farmland survey that had been halted after farmers objected. Lee insisted it is not about expropriation or penalties but about land bought speculatively around the capital region.
The mood on the ground
The biggest worry concerns the sea: one participant warned, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun, that unrestricted imports of Japanese seafood would undermine aquaculture at its roots. Lee acknowledged this is a major practical problem that weighs heavily on the public and promised to keep damage to fisheries to a minimum.
Farm organisations welcomed the direct dialogue but demanded more money and legal guarantees. According to Dailian, the umbrella federation of farm organisations wants agriculture's share of the national budget raised from 2.8 to at least 5 percent and enshrined in law. Lee only promised to review it.
Lee spoke openly about the political cost: dodging such an issue is the easiest path for a politician, he said, and taking criticism is part of his job. The conservative Dailian nevertheless sees a risk that "national interest" arguments could deepen resentment in rural areas, because land and livelihoods are at stake.
Voices from the media
Sources
This article was rewritten from local-language sources. Every statement about the mood is based on the linked reports.