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

President Lee shared a post on his social media written by Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung, titled "South Korea's Agricultural Subsidies Are Lower 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 provide support to areas that suffer damage to ensure there are no actual losses."