Legal Dilemmas in the Protection of Agricultural Interests under Free Trade Agreements: A Case Study of Korean Agriculture

Abstract

Korean agriculture faces persistent structural challenges under the framework of agricultural trade liberalization, reflecting a growing tension between international trade rules and the protection of domestic agricultural interests. The World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture and the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement have progressively constrained the policy space available for traditional agricultural protection through binding provisions on market access, tariff reduction, subsidy discipline, and broader trade liberalization commitments. These legal frameworks have redefined the permissible scope of state intervention in agricultural markets, limiting the effectiveness of conventional border protection instruments. However, the existing rules provide insufficient responses to key domestic concerns, including farmers’ livelihoods, the sustainability of vulnerable agricultural sectors, and broader social stability. Against this backdrop, agricultural conflict increasingly reflects a structural legal imbalance between global trade obligations and domestic welfare responsibilities. Therefore, the legal design of agricultural trade liberalization should establish a clearer and more functional balancing mechanism between market opening and the protection of domestic agriculture, ensuring that trade governance remains compatible with social and distributive justice objectives.