The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) denounced President Yoon Suk Yeol's veto of a contentious bill requiring government purchase of surplus rice Tuesday, calling it a "frontal rejection" of the National Assembly's legislative right.

Yoon vetoed the revision to the Grain Management Act, which the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed on March 23, in a Cabinet meeting, marking his first veto of a bill since he took office.

The bill requires the government to buy excess rice if production exceeds estimated demand by 3-5 percent, or if prices fall by 5-8 percent or more compared with the previous year.

"This is a frontal rejection of the National Assembly's legislative right," DP floor leader Park Hong-keun said. "We are deeply enraged with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration that holds the survival rights of farmers hostage and uses the presidential veto for political means."

Park also said the veto is a "cold-hearted act rejecting the desperate minds of farmers."

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, saying the measure would end up worsening overproduction and causing rice prices to fall further.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) supported Yoon's decision, saying it was right to veto an "unjust law" in terms of both purpose and procedure.

"It is an exercise of the president's constitutional right against legislative recklessness that harms the country and the people," PPP spokesperson Kim Mi-ae said.

With the veto, the ball is back in the National Assembly's court.

According to officials, the DP is considering putting the bill to a vote once again, but the bill is unlikely to pass the Assembly for the second time as it must win two-thirds approval.

The DP holds 169 out of 299 seats at the parliament, less than the two-thirds.

The DP had vowed to introduce additional, similar bills in the event the president exercises his veto.

Source: Yonhap News Agency