South Korea Secures Agricultural Supplies Amid Middle East Crisis
South Korea's Agriculture Minister, Song Mi-ryung, announced efforts to stabilize the supply of key agricultural inputs amid the ongoing Middle East crisis. At a press conference, Song assured that sufficient supplies of essential agricultural goods, such as fertilizers and agricultural films, have been secured for the spring planting season. The government plans to utilize a supplementary budget of 377.5 billion won (approximately $256 million) to support farmers, particularly in purchasing diesel for farm machinery. This budget is part of a larger 26.2 trillion-won extra budget passed to mitigate economic impacts from the Middle East crisis. Additionally, the government is implementing reforms in Nonghyup, the agricultural cooperation and banking group, to enhance governance and transparency following corruption scandals. These reforms include forming a new audit committee and establishing legal grounds to suspend employees convicted of crimes. 
