By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Government work related to the food industry and administration, currently scattered across various offices, are likely to be integrated under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry when the new administration is inaugurated in late February.
President-elect Lee Myung-bak’s transition committee has decided to bring various food-related work under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said Friday.
``We received a report from the ministry, which suggests the need for the integration of various food-related work,’’ he told reporters, adding that those proposals would be a reflection of the reorganization of government offices.
Lee, a former corporate executive who wants to slim down the government structure, has already vowed to fortify the ministry’s food administration function. He also offered to rename the ministry the ``Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Community and Food.’’
``While the renamed ministry would take care of the promotion of food industries, the food safety and other health and welfare-related works would be left in the hands of the Ministry of Health and Welfare,’’ said another official in the transition team.
He added that the food management and supervisory work of the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) would also be transferred to the new ministry in charge of agriculture and food.
Officials from the transition team point out that the fortification of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry could be understood better in terms of the larger picture of the ongoing process of government reorganization.
When the work related to food safety and health are transferred to other ministries, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will virtually be merged with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which is also set to be downsized.
Also, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is likely to be torn apart. Work on maritime policies will likely be transferred to the agriculture ministry, while port and logistics work will be handed over to the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.
In the meantime, the presidential power transition committee also decided to devise bold measures to improve the institutions on the development of farmland, including the abolition of various regulations.
``A number of people have argued that government regulations should be lifted so that the farmland can be utilized for various purposes,’’ a ministry official said. ``We contained the opinions in our report to the transition team.’’