# Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (South Korea)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA; Korean: 농림축산식품부; Hanja: 農林畜産食品部; RR: Nongnim Chucksan Sikpum-bu) is a cabinet-level division of the government of South Korea. It is headquartered in the Sejong Government Complex in Sejong City. It was established as Ministry of Agriculture, with the founding of the First Republic of Korea in 1948.
The MAFRA is responsible for areas including crop insurance, land reclamation, agricultural statistics and the development of agricultural technology including genetically modified crops and environmentally friendly agriculture. It is also responsible for direct payments to rice farmers and for aspects of preparedness for natural disasters.

## Mission

* The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs shall administer affairs related to agriculture, livestock, foods, farmland, and irrigation, promotion of food industry, development of farming communities, and distribution of agricultural products

## History

* 7 July 1948: Newly organized the Ministry of Agriculture
* 29 March 1962: Removed the Local Society Bureau and newly organized the Rural Development Administration as an independent organization
* 28 February 1966: Removed the Fisheries Bureau and newly organized the Korea Fisheries Service as an independent organization
* 27 December 1966: Removed the Forestry Bureau and newly organized the Korea Forest Service as an independent organization
* 28 March 1973: Changed the name of the ministry from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
* 28 January 1974: Organized the Agricultural Statistics Office in each provinces, or Do's under the immediate control of the Minister
* 2 November 1981:
** Removed the post of the Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food
** Maintained the part of Assistant Deputy Minister of Agricultural Administration; and the Assistant Deputy Minister of Food
* 31 December 1986: Changed the name of the ministry from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
* 8 August 1996: Changed the name of the ministry from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to the Ministry of Agriculture
* 29 March 2006: FTA-exclusive Free Trade Negotiation Department 2 was newly organized in the International Agriculture Bureau
* 9 February 2007: Return-to-the-Soil Support Department and Livestock Resources Circulation Department were newly organized
* 30 November 2007:
** Changed the name of institutes:
*** from National Plant Quarantine Center to National Plant Quarantine Service; and
*** from Korea Seed and Variety Center to Korea Seed and Variety Service
** Changed the name of bureaus:
*** from Investments and Loans Evaluation and Statistics Team to Policy Evaluation and Statistics Bureau
*** from Agricultural Structure Policy Bureau to Agricultural Policy Bureau
*** from Agricultural Circulation Bureau to Agricultural Circulation and Food Industry Bureau; and
*** from Livestock Bureau to Livestock Policy Bureau
* 29 February 2008: Changed the name of the ministry from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
* 12 November 2012:
** Newly formed the Agricultural Cooperative Marketing and Supply Support Team (a provisional team formed until October 31, 2015)
** Changed the Four Major Rivers and Saemangeum Development Division to the Saemangeum Development Division
* 23 March 2013:
** Changed the ministry name from the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.(The Fisheries Division is changed to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Food safety Division is transferred to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety)
** The Animal, Plant, and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency is changed to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, and the Training Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries is changed to the Food and Agriculture Officials Training Institute

## Organization

* Organization: one vice minister, one deputy minister, two offices, four bureaus, eight policy bureaus, forty-three divisions (teams and officers) and five institutes
* Quota: 3,237 people (538 people in the head office and 2,699 people in institutes)

### Minister

* Policy Advisor to the Minister

#### Spokesperson

* Public Relations Division

### Vice Minister
#### commissioner

* Audit and Inspection Officer

#### Planning & Coordination Office
##### Policy Planning Bureau

* Planning & Statistics Division
* Budget & Evaluation Division
* Administrative Management Division
* Regulation Reform & Legal Affairs Division
* Information Division

##### Emergency & Security Planning Bureau
#### Rural Policy Bureau

* Rural Policy Division
* Business & Human Resource Development Division
* Rural Development Division
* Rural Society Division

#### Agricultural Policy Bureau

* Agricultural Policy Division
* Farmland Policy Division
* Agricultural Financial Policy Division
* Farm Income Stabilization Division
* Agricultural Disaster Insurance Team
* Agricultural Cooperative's Marketing & Supply Support Team

##### Food Grain Policy Bureau

* Food Grain Policy Division
* Food Grain Industry Division
* Rural Infrastructure Division
* Saemangeum Development Division

#### International Cooperation Bureau

* General Division of International Cooperation
* International Development & Cooperation Division
* Agricultural Commerce Division
* Quarantine Policy Division

#### Livestock Policy Bureau

* Livestock Policy Division
* Livestock Management Division
* General Division of Animan Health
* Animal Health Management Division

#### Food Industry Policy Office

* National Food Cluster Team

##### Food Industry Policy Bureau

* Food Industry Policy Division
* Food Industry Promotion Division
* Food Service Industry Division
* Export Promotion Team

##### Marketing Policy Bureau

* Marketing Policy Division
* Horticulture Industry Division
* Horticulture Business Division
* Climate Change Response Division

##### Customer & Science Policy Bureau

* Customer Policy Division
* Environment-Friendly Agriculture Division
* Science & Technology Policy Division
* Seed & Life Industry Division

## Ministers

| | Name | Name (Korean) | Took office | Left office |
| 61 | Lee Dong-phil | 이동필 | 11 March 2013 | 5 September 2016 |
| 62 | Kim Jae-su | 김재수 | 5 September 2016 | 3 July 2017 |
| 63 | Kim Yung-rok | 김영록 | 3 July 2017 | 15 March 2018 |
| 64 | Lee Gae-ho | 이개호 | 10 August 2018 | 30 August 2019 |
| 65 | Kim Hyeon-soo | 김현수 | 31 August 2019 | 10 May 2022 |
| 66 | Chung Hwang-keun | 정황근 | 10 May 2022 | 29 December 2023 |
| 67 | Song Mi-ryung | 송미령 | 29 December 2023 | incumbent |