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APPENDIX 'D'

THE STATE OF THE PEASANTS IN KOREA AND THE PEASANT MOVEMENT

1. The state of the rural economy and the peasants can be summarized briefly as under:

* The peasants suffer chronic deficit production; the low price of agricultural produce barely covers production costs

* Farmers are unable to repay their debts; the average debt per household is US$3,000

* The destruction of the basis of domestic agricultural production; domestic production meets only 48.9% of domestic need. Agricultural goods worth approximately US$2 billion are imported each year.

* There is a constant decline in the social status of many peasants (many peasants are unable to marry and some commit suicide)

* There is increase in the political alienation of the peasantry

2. The main reason for the present crisis in the Korean agricultural sector are as follows:

* The failure of land reform after liberation; the policies of the American military government favoured the rich peasants

* The collapse of Korean agriculture caused by excessive import of U.S. surplus agricultural commodities

a) due to the destruction of the basis of domestic agricultural production

b) American pressure to Westernize the Korean diet (American "food imperialism")

c) the blocking of the domestic agricultural revolution (dependence on U.S. cotton, milling and sugar industries has contri-

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buted to the obstruction of the establishment of a self-reliant economic development plan based on the organic relationship between Korean agriculture and industry.)

* The export oriented development policy followed by the military regimes since the coup d'etat in 1960. The sacrifice of the rural sector because of low wages and also because of the low price of agriculture produces.

* The open door rural policy of the Chun Doo Hwan military regime inthe!980's

3. The principal causes of the current agricultural crisis are:

* The enormous import of foreign agricultural products and livestock – the aim/objective of the open rural policy – the profit/interest of the domestic and the foreign capital

Import categories: total 350 products

Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Amount $ million 1407 1879 1183 1553 1382

* Main import source: 99% of grains and 50% of livestock are imported from U.S.

* Increasing dependence on foreign products

Year 1965 1970 1981 1982 1983 1984

6.1 19.5 56 47 49.8 51.1

* Destruction of the basis of agricultural production

Total unit: 1000ha

area rice barley wheat bean corn

1965 3221 1228 827 93 308 44

1975 2522 1218 708 44 274 32

1984 1917 1231 287 6 190 30

* The import of live cattle has become a problem for domestic farmers

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– import of overseas beef (1980-1 984). . . . 200,000 tons

– import of overseas cattle . . . . for meat: 1,403,527 head

(1980-1984) for milk: 307,025 head

– inferior cattle among the imports. . . . . . . . 18,736 head

(1983) of which 72% from U.S.

* The peasant's loss has been the government's gain (1974-1984)

– losses incurred by peasants due to . . . . . $3 billion

import of foreign cattle

– profit accrued by government . . . . . . . . . $730 million

* Intensification of U.S. pressure on Korean government to open up agricultural and livestock markets for American goods

– the U.S. is trying to relieve the pressure on its own agricultural industry caused by overproduction, by increasing its imports to less developed countries

– The U.S. is using food as a weapon to make less developed countries permanently dependent on the U.S. economy

* Main features

– during the visit by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, U.S. brought official demands on 30 products

– in early 1985, demands on some 50 products have been made

* The main products on which US demands an open market are: cigarettes, orange, lemon, cattle, pork, chicken meat, milk, milk products, canned fruit, tangerine, almonds, pineapple, banana, mineral water etc.

4. The independent and self-initiating response of the Korean peasants (centering on the resistance and opposition movement against the import of foreign farm and livestock products)

Ten million Korean peasants have continued to develop the peasant movement in order to realize a truly human rural society and a sovereign nation in which the nation's people can bring about independent national unification. The movement focuses especially on opposing the present military government which is anti-peasant,

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and the superpowers' (including the US) policies which exploit Korean peasants.

5. Major features of the movement opposing import of foreign agricultural products

* Movement denouncing US pressure to open up Korean market

– March 29, 1985

The Korean Catholic Farmers Federation, the Korean Christian Farmers Federation and Catholic Woman Farmers Federation issued a joint statement calling for the immediate withdrawal of US demands to open up the Korean market which is aimed at US profit.

– April 22-23, 1985

About 100 farmers mostly from the Korean Christian Federation staged demonstrations in and outside the US Embassy in Seoul protesting against US pressure to open up the Korean market. During the demonstration 26 persons were forcibly taken into custody by the police. After a strong protest from other farmers they were soon all released.

* Active regional movements demanded compensation for losses incurred due to the fall in cattle price; and an end to import of foreign agricultural products

From July to Sept.'85

– number of peasant demonstrations: 10,000

– number of farmers detained: 200

indicted: 2

given summary sentences: 10

– victims of police violence and brutality: 100

demands made during demonstrations:

– US must immediately withdraw its demand to open up the Korean market

– Chun Doo Hwan and the present government must immediately stop importing foreign agricultural products

– Chun Doo Hwan and the present government must make a total compensation for losses incurred