S. Korea Expands Support for Young Farmers and Young Entrepreneurs in Farming, Rural Areas, and Related Industries 

Sejong, 5 January 2024 — The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) will expand support for young people in terms of farming, rural areas, and related industries in 2025.

Since 2023, the MAFRA has been carrying out the first basic plan for nurturing succeeding farmers and young farmers for the years 2023–2027 to help young people start their life in farming. In August 2024, the MAFRA announced the direction for the policy for young people working in farming and rural areas. With the policy direction, the MAFRA expanded the range of support recipients from young farmers to young people working in farming, rural areas, and related industries.

* A succeeding farmer means a person who runs, or intends to run, a farming business to succeed to and develop agriculture, as well as meets the requirements prescribed by the Presidential Decree.

[Farming]

1. The MAFRA will ease relevant regulations of preventing young people from settling in rural areas. 

The MAFRA has been carrying out the project to help young people settle in rural areas as farmers. Under the project, a financial support of a maximum of KRW 1.1 million per month is provided for young farmers for a maximum of three years. Also, young farmers receiving such financial support were allowed to engage in non-farming work activities only in off-season for farming to ensure that they could concentrate on farming.

However, starting from 2025, the period of such non-farming work activities during off-season for farming will be expanded from three to five months per year to help young farmers achieve income stability. Non-farming short-term work activities for young farmers will also be expanded from less than 60 to 100 hours per month.

As for young farmers who are required to continue to engage in farming during the period of their receipt of the government’s financial support after the financial support has expired, non-farming work activities will be allowed without limitation as long as they continue to engage in farming activities.

2. The regulation of limiting the level of an annual income from non-farming work activities to be eligible for application for financial support has been lifted.

The MAFRA has been running a fund for nurturing succeeding farmers to provide support for them to take out a loan for farmland and facilities. Application for the loan support required an annual income earned through non-farming work activities not to exceed KRW 37 million. Starting from this year, this regulation has been lifted so that succeeding farmers can receive such financial support regardless of their income levels coming from non-farming work activities.

3. The MAFRA has improved the requirements for application for loan support from the fund for those returning to farming in rural areas. 

As requirements for the fund application, a farmer’s annual income earned through non-farming work activities was limited to less than KRW 37 million, and a farmer was required to engage in farming as a full-time worker. These requirements have been removed. Also, the eligibility for application was limited to the head of a household, but has been expanded to include family members.

[Rural Areas]

1. Starting from 2025, the MAFRA will expand support for young people to start their business in rural areas. 

The MAFRA has been implementing the “rural convergence industry certification” programme, under which a certified business entity of the rural convergence industry can receive financial and promotional support from the government. Starting from this year, such support under the programme will be expanded to go to starting a business of using a wide range of resources in rural areas such as abandoned rural facilities and spaces.

* The term "rural convergence industry" means the industry where a farmer or a person who resides in a rural community combines tangible or intangible resources of rural areas, including agricultural products, nature, culture, etc. of rural areas, with the manufacturing industry such as food processing, etc., the service industry such as distribution, tourism, etc., or goods and services related to such industries in order to create or increase added value of products or services, which shall be prescribed by the Presidential Decree.

The MAFRA will also hold a competition for innovative rural business ideas. Through the competition, an award will be given to innovative business ideas of using tangible and intangible rural resources, and the government’s financial and promotional support will be provided for such ideas to develop into a real business. 

The MAFRA will also build 10 more rental house complexes this year, which brings the total number to 27. A rental house complex is composed of 30 houses, exclusive for young people returning to farming and rural areas and newlyweds residing in rural areas.

[Industries Related with Farming and Rural Areas]

1. The MAFRA will provide support for young entrepreneurs to start a business related with farming and rural areas. 

Specifically, the food business incubator, opened in November 2024, will provide support in terms of education on starting a business, production of a prototype, investment attraction, etc. Young entrepreneurs will also be given preferential treatment of taking precedence over other people in entering and using business incubation facilities and R&D support facilities.

Also, through a fund of KRW 20 billion, the MAFRA will provide loan support for startups, with a business history of eight years or above, run by young entrepreneurs aged 39 years or less.