Seung-gyu Kang, “26% of this year’s win-win discount support for marine products goes to imported products.”

(Hongseong = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeong Yun-deok = It was found that more than 25% of this year's support funds for distributors from the 'Fishery Product Coexistence Discount Support Project' implemented by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to support fishermen and promote consumption of fishery products was invested in imported products.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the 10th and analyzed by People Power Party lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu (Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, Budget) of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, government support amounting to 10.53 billion won was paid to imported marine products through August of this year.

This corresponds to 25.7% of the total support amount of 40.915 billion won paid to distributors.

The proportion of support for imported products increased from 7.3% (KRW 5.262 billion out of KRW 71.925 billion) in 2024 to 8.7% (KRW 7.262 billion out of KRW 83.1 billion) last year, and has nearly quadrupled in two years.

Representative Kang Seung-gyu said that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries estimated that fishermen's producer surplus increased by 136.7 billion won through an analysis of business effects last year, but pointed out that there were limitations to verification, such as not using actual transaction data such as fishermen's actual fraudulent prices or production costs.

Rep. Kang criticized, “The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries spent 10.5 billion won this year alone on discounts on imported products without ever verifying the actual income of domestic fishermen,” adding, “At this level, it is honest to call it an ‘imported fishery product promotion project’ funded with taxpayers’ money, rather than a win-win project for fishermen.”