President Lee: "Agriculture Is a Strategic Security Industry... Agricultural Subsidies Must Increase to Support Farmers"

President Lee Jae-myung stated yesterday (July 17) that "agriculture is a vital strategic security industry," adding, "To safeguard food security and revitalize rural areas, agriculture, and farmers, we must increase agricultural subsidies."

President Lee shared a post on his social media from Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung, titled "South Korea's agricultural subsidies are low compared to other advanced agricultural nations," and made the remarks.

Minister Song wrote on her social media that as of last year, the average agricultural subsidy per farm household in South Korea was 5.19 million won, which is lower than the 25.8 million won in the European Union (as of 2023) and 9.67 million won in Japan (as of 2024).

In response, President Lee emphasized, "With the revitalization of the stock market, the special tax for rural development has surged, providing sufficient financial resources." He added, "As an open trading nation, market opening for market expansion is inevitable, but it is also important to support the sectors affected by such measures to ensure there are no substantial losses."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.