0
President Lee Jae-myung listens to a presentation at a national briefing session on the Korea-Green Transformation (K-GX) strategy, held at a conference venue in Seoul on the 7th. / Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung directed on the 8th that the application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) not be submitted within this year.

Kang Yu-jung, senior spokesperson for the presidential office, conveyed this during a written briefing on the day.

Senior Spokesperson Kang stated that "President Lee requested that relevant ministries listen sufficiently to the voices of farmers and fishers with sincerity and maintain ongoing dialogue, rather than setting a rigid accession deadline."

Earlier, during a Cabinet meeting on the 6th, President Lee instructed officials to review CPTPP accession again from square one. At that meeting, Cabinet members voiced opinions that to have South Korea's accession discussed at the CPTPP ministerial meeting scheduled for this November, a public hearing plan would have to be announced in the official government gazette by mid-October at the latest.

Senior Spokesperson Kang remarked, "Amid rapid shifts in the international trade order, the CPTPP is an important option that must be reviewed by the Republic of Korea as a nation aiming to be a global trading powerhouse. However, trade policy directly impacts the livelihoods of the people."

She repeatedly stressed, "In particular, this must be pursued based on trust and shared consensus with farmers and fishers who are experiencing hardship," adding, "Above all, restoring trust between the government and farmers and fishers is the top priority."

Furthermore, Senior Spokesperson Kang stated, "The remaining 700 billion won out of the 1 trillion won Rural Win-Win Cooperation Fund, which was promised at the time of the National Assembly's ratification of the Korea-China FTA in 2015, will be secured through government fiscal expenditure."

She added, "Under the principle of ensuring that no citizen, including farmers and fishers, is left behind, the sovereign citizens' government will communicate thoroughly as it examines the issue of CPTPP accession."

                                                                                                             Hong Sun-mi