President Lee Seeks to Soothe Agriculture and Fisheries over CPTPP: "Compensate Losses with Export Gains"

"Shortfall in the Coexistence Fund to Be Covered by Government Finances"
"Levy to Be Imposed as a Certain Percentage of Export Growth"

President Lee Jae-myung has presented a profit-sharing measure for the agricultural and fisheries sectors, which have voiced opposition to the government's push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Under this plan, industries that benefit from free trade agreements (FTAs) would compensate industries that suffer losses. Referring to agriculture and fisheries as “strategic security industries,” President Lee stated that the government would fill the shortfall in the Agricultural and Fishing Village Win-Win Cooperation Fund with government finances, and that he would meet directly with stakeholders in agriculture and fisheries before moving forward with CPTPP accession to listen to their opinions.

President Lee Jae-myung is delivering a commemorative speech at the 20th World Korean Day ceremony held in Songdo, Incheon on the 28th. September 28, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On September 29, President Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter) under the title “Agriculture, fisheries, and livestock are strategic security industries. Citizens, do not worry,” stating, “Because the Republic of Korea is an open, trade-dependent country, FTAs are inevitable for expanding export markets.” He also noted, “While the majority of industries benefit, there are sectors that suffer damage—namely, those involved in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and livestock.”

He then raised the idea of redistributing the gains and losses resulting from market opening. President Lee said, “Conflicts of interest resulting from the expansion of FTAs are inevitable, but such conflicts can be managed. Benefiting sectors should support those that sustain losses.” Specifically, he proposed, “By imposing a certain percentage of the export growth achieved through FTAs as a levy, the losses can be compensated.”

This approach is interpreted as a direct attempt to address opposition from the agricultural and fisheries sectors, which has emerged as the biggest challenge in the renewed push to join the CPTPP. According to a recent government impact analysis, Korea’s real GDP is projected to be 0.38 percentage points higher ten years after joining the CPTPP compared to not joining, and manufacturing production is expected to increase by more than 6 trillion won per year on average. On the other hand, production in the agriculture, forestry, and fishery sectors is expected to fall by about 850 billion won per year. Thus, the benefits of market opening would be concentrated in manufacturing, while losses would be concentrated in agriculture and fisheries.

"Failure to Fulfill Win-Win Fund Commitment Has Eroded Trust"

President Lee also pointed out that existing compensation mechanisms have not functioned properly. He said, “The 1 trillion won fund pledged at the time of the FTA agreement was left to voluntary contributions, and as a result, not even 300 billion won has been raised to date, leading to diminished trust in both the policy and the government. To restore trust, our government has decided to make up the 1 trillion won shortfall in the fund with government resources.”

The Agricultural and Fishing Village Win-Win Cooperation Fund was established in 2017 to support agriculture, fisheries, and rural communities adversely affected by FTA-driven market openings, and to foster mutual prosperity with beneficiary industries. The original goal was to raise 1 trillion won over ten years, at 100 billion won annually. However, as of July this year, only 325.5 billion won had been accumulated—just 32.6% of the target. The government has included a new contribution of 200 billion won to this fund in next year's budget proposal.

With President Lee mentioning “the imposition of a certain percentage of export growth as a levy,” attention is now focused on whether the government will develop a specific institutional framework to transfer profits from FTA beneficiary industries to those incurring losses. However, as this could result in additional burdens on companies, it is expected that discussions will be needed on who bears the cost and what criteria will be used when the system is actually institutionalized.

President Lee to Meet with Agricultural and Fisheries Sectors Directly... Orders for CPTPP Feedback

President Lee also expressed his intention to communicate directly with representatives from the agriculture and fisheries sectors. He said, “I believe I should meet in person with those affected in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock. There is no reason to treat things said at massive rallies or via email petitions any differently.” He added, “I will meet you personally in the near future and listen carefully to your opinions.”

He particularly emphasized, “As someone who understands better than anyone the importance of agriculture, livestock, and forestry as strategic security sectors, I urge you not to worry too much,” and explained that he has instructed the government to thoroughly gather feedback concerning CPTPP accession.

As the government resumes its push for CPTPP accession to respond to the strengthening of U.S. protectionism and the restructuring of global supply chains, compensation for losses in the agricultural and fisheries sectors is expected to become a key domestic issue in future negotiations. Since President Lee made clear both the inevitability of market opening and the principle that “beneficiary industries should compensate those impacted,” the design of a detailed compensation mechanism, along with the pace of CPTPP accession, is expected to be central to winning over the agricultural and fisheries sectors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.