An infographic outlining the subordinate regulations under the Hanwoo Industry Act [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]
An infographic outlining the subordinate regulations under the Hanwoo Industry Act [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

South Korea is set to enact the Hanwoo Industry Act, a law designed to systematically support supply management and farm management stability in the domestic beef cattle sector. The government will draw up a comprehensive five-year plan for the hanwoo industry and institutionalize measures including supply management, business improvement fund support, and calf production stabilization assistance.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Thursday that the Act on the Transition and Support of the Hanwoo Industry in Response to Carbon Neutrality — commonly known as the Hanwoo Industry Act — along with its enforcement decree and rules, will take effect Friday. The law aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the hanwoo industry and support the management stability of hanwoo farms while responding to carbon neutrality requirements and changes in the livestock environment.

Based on surveys and statistics on the state of the hanwoo industry, the government will establish a comprehensive five-year plan for fostering and supporting the sector. Annual implementation plans aligned with the master plan will also be drawn up and published on official government websites.

A Hanwoo Industry Development Council will also be formed. The council will deliberate on specifics including supply and demand management, the payment of slaughter and shipment incentives, calf production stabilization support, business improvement fund assistance, education support, and the development of an export base.

Requirements for corporate participation in hanwoo production have also been clarified. Medium-sized enterprises and above — a category that includes mid-tier companies, large corporations, and affiliates of publicly disclosed conglomerates — that wish to enter the sector based on their primary business type and average revenue must engage in low-carbon farming practices, secure land for cultivating roughage crops, and draw up a roughage production plan.

Measures to ensure coexistence with existing hanwoo farms have also been put in place. Participating companies must analyze the impact on local economies and prepare a cooperation plan covering supply policy compliance and other coexistence measures with existing farms. They must also gather opinions from hanwoo production-related organizations in the relevant region, including agricultural production cooperatives, agricultural corporations, local agricultural and livestock cooperatives, and commodity cooperatives.

The ministry plans to establish the Hanwoo Industry Development Council upon the law's entry into force and to set trigger criteria for the calf production stabilization support program, which had not previously been implemented.

Lee Jae-sik, the ministry's livestock policy director, said the government would "continuously communicate with farmers at every opportunity, reflect the voices from the field in policy, and work toward strengthening the competitiveness of the hanwoo industry and stabilizing farm management."


adastra@heraldcorp.com