On April 2nd (Wednesday), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok convened the Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs at the Government Complex-Seoul.
The government will swiftly allocate resources to minimize the impact of the largest wildfire in Korean history on agricultural supply and prices in affected areas and to support the affected farmers. More than 400 billion KRW will be provided for facility and equipment restoration, feed purchases, and emergency livelihood stabilization funds. In addition, disaster recovery funds and relief grants will be disbursed immediately after the damage assessment is completed. The government plans to consider additional financial support to stabilize agricultural supply going forward.
Furthermore, as part of an effort to stabilize perceived prices, an additional 30 billion KRW will be injected into discount programs for agricultural, livestock, and fishery products in April and May; more than 100 tons of cabbage and radish will be supplied to the market daily for supply stabilization; public utility fees managed by government ministries, including electricity, gas, and railways, will be frozen in the first half of the year by absorbing cost increase factors through cost-cutting measures and self-help efforts; also, market monitoring will be strengthened to prevent unfair practices such as price hikes through capacity reductions and collusion.
The government will continue fostering innovative industries and supporting businesses; starting in May, a public-private joint ‘R&D Task Force’ will be launched to drive innovation-focused R&D in the animal pharmaceutical industry. All currently unimplemented items in international standard manufacturing and quality management regulations will be gradually adopted by 2035. Also, in order to make it easier for small business owners and SMEs to access policy financing, the ‘Integrated Policy Finance Platform’ will be launched on April 4th.
At today’s meeting, discussions were made on the ‘Consumer Price Index for March 2025 and Key Features’, ‘Progress on Improving the Distribution Structure of Agricultural and Fishery Products’, ‘Enhancing Market Monitoring and Institutional Improvements in Consumer-Critical Sectors’, ‘Support Measures for Farmers in Wildfire-Affected Areas’, ‘Development Plans for the Animal Pharmaceutical Industry’, and ‘Progress and Future Plans for the Integrated Policy Finance Platform’.
Please refer to the attached files.
