A bill requiring the government purchase of surplus rice that has been vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol was tabled for a vote once again at a parliamentary plenary session Thursday.

Yoon rejected the revision to the Grain Management Act during a Cabinet meeting last week, requesting the National Assembly reconsider the bill amid concerns that it could lead to a waste of government resources.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which had earlier railroaded the bill at the opposition-controlled Assembly, submitted a request for the revision bill to be tabled at the plenary session for a revote.

The request was passed in a 176-109 vote.

The DP has argued the vetoed bill can protect farmers and stabilize rice prices, as rice demand has been on a steady decline due mainly to changes in diet and eating habits.

But critics say the legislation is a short-sighted populist policy aimed at wooing farmer voters ahead of next year's general elections, stressing the measure would end up worsening overproduction and causing rice prices to fall further.

Two-thirds approval is needed for a bill rejected by the president to be passed by parliament again, fanning views that it is unlikely to pass, given that the DP only holds 169 out of the 299 seats.

Source: Yonhap News Agency