Minister Song: "Determined Need for Comprehensive Farmland Survey to Improve System, Reported Plan"

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Miryeong said on October 27, regarding the background to the comprehensive farmland survey, "At a Cabinet meeting in February 2026, President Lee Jaemyung instructed officials to 'consider various measures to address fundamental problems in farmland management.'"

President Lee Jaemyung and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Miryeong. Yonhap News Agency

Minister Song said on X (formerly Twitter) that day, "As we worked to flesh out the President's remarks and the contents of the work briefing, we determined that it was necessary to examine the ownership and use of all farmland in order to make fundamental institutional improvements, including measures to prevent speculation. We organized the farmland survey plan and proposed institutional improvements and reported them at a Cabinet meeting in May 2026." She also explained that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs had reported on the need to improve farmland regulations that did not reflect realities during a work briefing in December 2025.

Minister Song said, "When I have recently visited farming communities, many farmers have also told me that a farmland survey is necessary. This survey is the first step on a path no one has tried before. I will proceed with it after carefully considering every detail so that it will eventually be regarded as 'a good decision that helped farmers.'"

Earlier, President Lee said at a meeting with farmers and fishers at Cheong Wa Dae on October 26 that the nationwide survey was launched after Minister Song proposed a comprehensive farmland survey. The People Power Party criticized President Lee, saying he had mentioned a comprehensive survey at a Cabinet meeting in February 2026 and was shifting responsibility onto the minister.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.