President Lee Jae-myung defined agriculture as a security strategic industry and raised the need to increase agricultural subsidies.
According to political circles on the 18th, the president posted on her social media (SNS) X (formerly Twitter) account the day before, saying, "To protect food security and save rural communities, agriculture, and farmers, we need to increase agricultural subsidies."
The president said, "Agriculture is a very important security strategic industry," adding, "Even if there is no economic efficiency in preparation for an emergency, we must protect the minimum necessary for national survival."
She added, "For this reason, each country provides agricultural subsidies, but ours is far smaller than other advanced countries," she noted.
The president also shared Minister Song Mi-ryung's SNS post titled "Korea's agricultural subsidies are smaller than those of other advanced agricultural countries."
The Minister said that as of last year, the amount of agricultural subsidies per farm household in Korea was 5.19 million won, which is smaller than the European Union (EU) at 25.8 million won (as of 2023) and Japan at 9.67 million won (as of 2024).
This was a detailed explanation of the status of farm subsidies mentioned during the briefing on the 16th, and the Minister said in the post, "The amount of agricultural subsidies per farm household in Korea is 5.19 million won, which is smaller than the European Union (EU) at 25.8 million won (as of 2023) and Japan at 9.67 million won (as of 2024)."
The president emphasized, "As an open trading nation, market opening to pioneer markets is inevitable, and it is also important to support the sectors that suffer damage with part of the gains so they incur no real loss."
She also explained, "A basic income program for rural communities with high efficiency is producing some effect of increasing agricultural support funds, and with an active stock market, The Special Tax for Rural Development is surging, making funding ample."