No more concessions to US in agriculture talks: minister

The government will focus on protecting the agriculture market in revising the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), the agriculture minister said Monday.

He also stressed that the Anti-Graft Law should be softened to lessen the damage to farmers.

“We have many tasks lying ahead, including the KORUS FTA,” Agriculture Minister Kim Yung-rok said in a meeting with the media, adding that the government will take measures to minimize the damage to the agricultural sector.

Following continuous pressure by Washington, the administration agreed to begin the amendment process for the bilateral trade pact. While Korea’s agriculture imports from the United States are 10 times bigger than what the U.S. imports from here, Washington is set to demand further opening of the market.

The minister, however, has been stressing that Korea has nothing more to give when considering the already huge agriculture trade deficit with the United States.

“The imbalance in trade is already huge in agriculture. While Korea exported $700 million worth of goods to the United States, imports stood at $6.8 billion,” the minister pointed out at a National Assembly audit last week.

The minister also said that the Anti-Graft Law needs some revision. “We will coordinate with related ministries to pull up the price ceilings to a realistic level,” he said.

The country has been implementing the law since last September, which bans public servants, teachers and journalists from receiving meals valued over 30,000 won, gifts worth more than 50,000 won and congratulatory and condolence money in excess of 100,000 won.