President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a policy briefing with the Agriculture Ministry in his office on Thursday. (Pool photo via Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung called for increased agricultural subsidies, saying it would be crucial for the country's food security and national survival.In his X post Friday night, Lee said South Korea should move to safeguard the farming industry and prepare for an emergency in terms of food supply and foreign food products' eased access to the South Korean agricultural market. He said increasing the government's direct payment to farmers would be crucial to ensuring farmers' security against this backdrop."The fact is that (South Korea's agricultural subsidies) are extremely low compared to other advanced nations," Lee wrote."To protect food security and save rural areas, agricultural industry and farmers, we must increase agricultural subsidies."Lee added the recent bull run in the stock market has contributed to an increase in rural tax revenue, enabling the government to make the source of funding sufficient.In the post, the liberal president reposted Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung's X that indicated South Korea's subsidies to farmers are comparatively lower.Song brought up the 2025 figure for South Korea's agricultural subsidies per farming household, amounting to 5.19 million won ($3,483) per year. According to Song, South Korea's figure was one fifth of the European Union's level in 2023 and half of Japan's in 2024.