임미애 의원, 윤석열 정부의 농산물 유통개혁 실패를 고발하다: 허위 거래 비율 59.6%!

[iNews24 Reporter Kim Eun-kyung] A government investigation has confirmed allegations of fraudulent and irregular transactions in the online wholesale market for agricultural and marine products. These concerns were initially raised by Democratic Party lawmaker Im Mi-ae during last year’s National Assembly audit. Critics now argue that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s agricultural distribution reform policies have exacerbated mismanagement and oversight issues, leading to significant waste of taxpayer money.

According to Im Mi-ae’s office on the 10th, a comprehensive survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs revealed alarming statistics. Out of a total transaction amount of 769.8 billion KRW (approximately 577.35 million USD), 458.4 billion KRW (about 343.8 million USD) was classified as fraudulent or irregular. These questionable transactions, which include related-party dealings, late registrations, and missing transportation information, account for a staggering 59.6% of the total transaction amount.

The investigation uncovered that late registrations were the most prevalent form of irregular transactions, accounting for 32.4% of the total. Related-party transactions followed closely at 28.9%. The probe also identified suspicious office proximity transactions and short-distance dealings, suggesting that some companies may have inflated their performance metrics and support by misclassifying direct transactions as online wholesale market transactions.

The government’s policy of linking participation in the online wholesale market to financial incentives, such as logistics cost support and low-interest loans, appears to have backfired. This approach encouraged businesses to shift transactions to the online platform to enhance performance figures. Evidence has emerged that some companies exploited this system by retroactively registering existing transactions to receive unwarranted subsidies.

As a result, the volume of transactions in the online wholesale market skyrocketed from 670 billion KRW (about 502.5 million USD) in its inaugural year of 2024 to 1.23 trillion KRW (approximately 922.5 million USD) in 2025. However, critics argue that this rapid growth occurred without adequate management and oversight mechanisms. The increasing budget allocated for logistics and loan support has raised serious concerns about potential misuse of taxpayer funds.

Notably, this investigation only focused on a subset of companies that received policy support. Experts warn that if the scope were expanded to include all participating companies, including those that did not receive direct support, the scale of fraudulent and irregular transactions could be significantly larger.

Lawmaker Im Mi-ae did not mince words in her criticism: “The Yoon Suk Yeol administration, in its haste to achieve performance targets, turned a blind eye to abnormal and fraudulent transactions. This negligence has created a system where taxpayer money is effectively supporting suspicious dealings. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food must immediately launch a comprehensive audit and recover all improperly disbursed subsidies. A complete overhaul of the online wholesale market project is now imperative.”