The move to reduce the operating days of the Seoul Garak Market is facing strong opposition from production areas. Given the perishable nature of agricultural products, enforcing a trial closure on Saturdays, March 2 and April 6, would result in shipment delays and flood markets on certain days, causing significant harm to farmers.

In response, the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation has decided to halt the planned trial closure for April.

On the 23rd, the Presidents' Council of the National Agricultural Cooperative Associations issued a statement opposing the reduction of Garak Market's operating days, urging for the immediate cessation of the trial closures scheduled for March and April and to maintain the current six-day auction week. The council, consisting of presidents from 34 item-specific associations, argued that while the prices of agricultural products have remained relatively stable over the years, the costs of farming inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and labor have risen significantly. Reducing the market's operating days would increase supply and price uncertainty, which would ultimately hurt farmers. They called for measures such as expanding intermediate wholesalers and introducing a rotational work system to allow farmers to focus on production. They also requested maintaining the current six-day operations until alternative trading methods, like fixed-price and online wholesale markets, are fully developed.

With the first trial closure date (March 2) approaching in just eight days, concerns are mounting in production areas nearing peak harvest. On the 19th, Seongju County (Governor Lee Byung-hwan) held an emergency meeting regarding the trial implementation of a five-day week at Garak Market. The meeting, attended by county officials, local agricultural cooperative heads, and representatives from the Seongju Joint Business Corporation and farmers' groups, expressed unanimous concern that the closure would negatively impact the quality and prices of fresh produce, such as Seongju melons.

Chairman Kang of the National Agricultural Cooperative Associations emphasized that the implementation of a five-day week at Garak Market could influence wholesale markets nationwide, making it a broader issue. He stressed that without concrete alternatives, expanding the five-day week would directly harm farmers. Governor Lee Byung-hwan added that with March 3 being a Sunday, enforcing the trial closure would effectively ban shipments for two days, and the county would closely monitor the impacts on the melon industry.

The Daeseo Agricultural Cooperative in Busan, a major producer of Daeseo tomatoes, is also troubled. Currently, about 10 tons of tomatoes are shipped daily to Garak Market, representing 60% of the local harvest. This volume is expected to double in March. Despite visiting Garak Market on February 16 to express their concerns about the five-day week, their input was not accepted.

Chairman Ryu Tae-yoon of Daeseo Agricultural Cooperative said they are attempting to redistribute the March 2 shipments to local wholesale markets like Busan Banyeo Market. However, due to capacity limitations at these markets, a price drop due to increased supply is inevitable.

Opinions from other major production areas for crops like green peppers and strawberries are also negative. Choi Jeong-sam from Muan Agricultural Cooperative's Sales and Distribution Center reported that farmers are already worried about the expected increase in green pepper production in March. Shin Jeong-ho, head of Jinju Geumsan Agricultural Cooperative, noted that strawberries lose their market value if not shipped daily, and a two-day closure would severely impact strawberry farmers.

Concerns about additional costs for logistics and labor are widespread. Heo Saeng-gu, a lettuce and celery farmer from Jinwol-myeon, Gwangyang, expressed difficulties in securing transportation for several days' worth of produce. Hwang Jeong-gyun from Gwangyang Eastern Agricultural Cooperative's Agricultural Product Distribution Center remarked that finding workers for sporadic days off would become more challenging, and handling three days' worth of work in one day would overburden operations.

The Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation and the market's intermediaries seem to be taking a step back. Seo Kyung-nam, the corporation's Innovation Team Leader, announced on the 20th that the market would remain open on April 6 due to the high volume of perishable items like strawberries, tomatoes, and melons expected on that date. The corporation is exploring alternatives to flexible market operations for perishable items like strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and pumpkins.

Lee Jae-heung, Secretary-General of the Korea Agro-Fisheries Wholesale Market Corporation Association's Garak Market Branch, acknowledged the challenges of recruiting new workers due to poor working conditions, despite the decision to halt the fourth trial closure. He emphasized that discussions to improve working conditions at Garak Market should continue alongside this decision.

Reporters: Seo Hyo-sang, Jang Jae-hyuk in Gwangyang, Yoo Geon-yeon and Kim Da-jung in Seongju, Kim Gwang-dong in Busan and Milyang, and Choi Sang-il in Jinju.