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

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in para 11; ADDS new information, comments from
para 12; TRIMS)
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 a sizable sum 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, 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, with some landlords taking money from tenants by falsely claiming they
farmed the land themselves.
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, the report said.
Both payments are designed to ensure a 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-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 may 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 of who can be considered
a farmer are vague, however, allowing property owners to claim subsidies that
leave tenant farmers empty-handed.
Other proposed changes include stiff fines for non-farmers who apply for the
subsidy.
The Board of Audit and Inspection said earlier in the month that more than a
quarter of subsidy recipients in 2006, or as many as 280,000 people, may have
been non-farmers. There is speculation that up to 10,000 of them were government
officials and employees of state-run corporations.
The farm ministry has since opened a special office dedicated to screening
subsidy recipients whose listed addresses are far away from the rice paddies they
supposedly farm. It said that an initial list of people who may have falsely
received funds should be compiled by mid-November, and that every effort will be
taken to ferret out violators within the year.
The screening will cover past recipients dating back to 2005 and those that have
applied for funds this year, according to the ministry. Immediate measures will
also be taken to recoup money sent to intelligible applicants.
"Because of the urgency (of the issue), subsidies review committees are to be set
up in the 2,400 rural counties and wards within the year, with representatives of
farmers' groups, public companies and the agricultural cooperative to take part
in the screening process," said a ministry spokesman. He said 2,500 violation
report centers are to be opened nationwide to receive tips on possible false
claims.
Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong recently met with 35 representatives of
farmers groups and pledged a speedy investigation and retrieval of funds.
"In the future, safeguards are to be established that will ensure subsidies only
go to dedicated rice farmers," he said, urging local growers do their part to
report ineligible recipients.