The main opposition Democratic Party will push for a revote on a bill requiring the government purchase of surplus rice, the party's floor leader said Wednesday, after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed the legislation.
Rep. Park Hong-keun made the remarks a day after Yoon rejected the revision to the Grain Management Act during a Cabinet meeting, requesting the National Assembly to reconsider the bill amid criticism it would lead to a waste of government resources.
Park said the DP will request the bill to be put to a vote once again at a parliamentary plenary session scheduled for April 13.
The DP, which railroaded the bill at the opposition-controlled National Assembly on March 23, has argued the vetoed bill can protect farmers and stabilize rice prices, as rice demand has been on a steady decline due mainly to changes in diet and eating habits.
But critics say the legislation is a short-sighted populist policy aimed at wooing farmer voters ahead of next year's general elections, stressing that the measure would end up worsening overproduction and causing rice prices to fall further.
Two-thirds approval is needed for a bill rejected by the president to be passed by parliament again, fanning views that it is unlikely to pass given that the DP only holds 169 out of the 299 seats.
Source: Yonhap News Agency