The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) has come under scrutiny for allowing nearly 700 billion won in agricultural support funds to be concentrated in Emart, despite knowing that the structure could favor large retail companies.
According to data submitted to the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee by Democratic Party lawmaker Song Ok-joo, Emart received 698 billion won in agricultural discount support this year. This amount represents a 3.3-fold increase from the previous year and accounts for 40% of the total support for large supermarkets, which is 1.744 trillion won.
Notably, the support Emart received exceeded the total support for 47 small and medium-sized supermarkets, which amounted to 574 billion won. When combined with the 157 billion won allocated for seafood discount support from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the total government funding for Emart this year reached 855 billion won.
The agricultural discount support program allows the government to set the items and discount rates, with retailers selling products at discounted prices and the government reimbursing them based on consumer payment records. This structure inherently favors large companies with extensive store networks, according to Song's office.
On October 7, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung explained during a parliamentary audit that the program is designed for post-settlement rather than pre-allocation, which led to the current situation.
However, Song's office criticized the government and aT for failing to implement preemptive measures, which contributed to the concentration of funds in specific large companies. They pointed out that Homeplus, which was initially allowed to participate, was excluded during the evaluation phase, creating a demand gap of over 200 billion won. Additionally, the government removed the weekly discount limit of 20,000 won per person under the guise of a Chuseok measure.
As a result, Emart, which operates warehouse-style stores (including Traders) with high average transaction amounts around 100,000 won, quickly exhausted its budget and accumulated support funds. In fact, from September 1 to 26, Emart (including Traders) accounted for 71% of the card payment amounts among the three major supermarkets. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that Homeplus applied for the program but was not selected as a qualified business by the evaluation committee.
Critics have also raised concerns that the program has overlooked its original goal of stabilizing farmers' incomes. The Ministry of Agriculture's own analysis indicated that the increase in sales at large supermarkets amounted to 3.519 trillion won, but there has been no analysis of the actual income support for farmers, as pointed out by Song's office.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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