S. Korean rice subsidies top 990 bln won in 2007: gov't

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout; ADDS with
comments by vice minister from para 12)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government paid nearly 1 trillion won
(US$760 million) in direct rice farming subsidies in 2007, a report showed
Monday, amid snowballing allegations that much of the money ended up in the hands
of ineligible recipients.
The subsidies were implemented after the government was forced to stop buying
heavily subsidized domestic rice under World Trade Organization rules in 2005, in
order to give farmers some additional financial help. The funds were intended
solely for rice farmers, and not for land owners.
According to the report by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, more than 1 million people received 990 billion won in subsidies last
year, many of the recipients landlords who falsely claimed they farmed the land,
stripping tenant farmers of the much needed income.
In 2007 alone, 712 billion won was paid in "set" amounts to rice farmers, while
279.1 billion won was doled out as additional support in the form of "variable"
subsidies, it said.
Both payments are designed to ensure stable income for farmers. The ministry said
that individual farmers received an average of 661,000 won in "set" subsidies and
275,000 won in "variable" subsidies last year.
Of those who received "set" subsidies, 60 percent, or about 642,000, got less
than 500,000 won, with 17 percent getting more than 1 million won. An additional
7,270 people received subsidies in excess of 5 million won.
For "variable" subsidies, 87 percent received less than 500,000 won, with only
3.6 percent, or 36,712 recipients, getting more than 1 million won, according to
the report.
The farm ministry has pledged to tighten eligibility rules for farmers who
receive such financial support in 2009 so that non-rice growers do not receive
the funds.
Under new measures forwarded to the National Assembly, only farmers who rely
solely on farming as their main source of income can apply for such subsidies.
At present, only those who actually produce rice or have worked in rice paddies
in the past are eligible for the subsidies. Definitions, however, of who can be
considered a farmer are vague, allowing property owners to claim subsidies that
leave tenant farmers empty-handed.
Other proposed changes include stiff penalties for people who apply for subsidies
even though they do not really farm the land. Penalties could amount to 100
percent of the money requested or received.
Vice Agriculture Minister Jeong Hak-soo, meanwhile, told reporters that the
government will be able to determine the exact number of people who wrongfully
requested or received farm subsidies by early December.
"The government is very firm on determining who received money despite having
nothing to do with farming," he said.
In early October, the Board of Audit and Inspection suggested there may be
upwards of 42,000 cases involving the unlawful pocketing of rice subsidies.
Jeong added that Seoul is currently in the process of merging various types of
farm subsidies into a single system in order to do away with current problems and
enhance transparency.
"Farmers who can prove they cultivate the land and want to receive help will be
required to register and submit associated documentation starting in 2009," he
said.
Instead of giving subsidies only to rice farmers, the new minimum earnings system
calls for increased support to farmers of a wider array of agricultural products
to increase total amount offered to eligible recipients.