The supplementary budget of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been finalized at 56.2 billion won. Through this supplementary budget, additional funds will be injected into the distribution of life jackets and the support project for seafood shared discounts.
According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the 2nd, 6.2 billion won has been newly allocated for the distribution of inflatable life jackets through this supplementary budget. This measure is intended to minimize human casualties in the event of fishing vessel accidents and to expand the distribution of more user-friendly life jackets.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to support the expense of inflatable life jackets for about 100,000 fishermen in nearby coastal waters, expecting to reduce human casualties during fishing vessel accidents. It is known that the survival time for those wearing life jackets more than doubles during an accident and that the search time is also shortened, significantly improving rescue efficiency.
A Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official noted, 'Solid life jackets are inconvenient, and inflatable ones tend to be expensive, making it difficult to establish the practice of wearing life jackets on site.'
In addition, to alleviate the burden of prices on citizens' grocery baskets and to promote the consumption of seafood, an additional 50 billion won has been allocated to the seafood shared discount support project. The seafood price inflation rate recorded 3.6% in both February and March compared to the same month last year, with an increase to 6.4% in April.
The shared discount support project refers to events such as the 'Korea Seafood Competition,' where the government and online and offline retailers jointly discount seafood prices, as well as events that refund discount amounts using Onnuri gift certificates when purchasing seafood at traditional markets.
Minister Kang Do-hyung stated, 'I expect this supplementary budget, which has been approved in this plenary session, will support the marine and fisheries industry and contribute to stabilizing livelihoods,' adding, 'I will execute the budget swiftly and effectively to achieve the purpose of this supplementary budget.'