Lee disputes Brazil egg import costs, calls criticism political misinformation

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday dismissed criticism that the government wasted taxpayer money by importing eggs from Brazil at high cost, calling the allegations politically motivated falsehoods.

Opposition lawmakers have accused the government of wasting 80 billion won ($59.51 million) in taxpayer money on the imports, pointing to the per-egg cost rising to 1,464 won from an initial purchase price of 178 won after airfreight, tariffs and other expenses were included.

"Egg prices in Korea surged this summer, while supplies were insufficient [...] so we conducted a trial import of a small quantity of eggs from Brazil to secure an additional source of supply, despite the high transportation costs," Lee said in a post on X.

Lee said importing more expensive goods from overseas and supplying them domestically at lower prices is a common government measure to manage consumer prices when supply shortages drive up the cost of basic necessities.

While acknowledging that airfreight and other associated expenses increased the final import cost, Lee stressed that the eggs accounted for just 0.8 percent of Korea's total egg imports, with the overall cost amounting to only around 1.6 billion won, not 80 billion won.

Lee described the criticism as "the spread of false information for political purposes" and urged those making the claims to correct them.

Yonhap