The South Korean government is conducting a comprehensive survey to assess the ownership and use of agricultural land, amid rising concerns in rural areas about the effectiveness of the survey methods and anxiety over land disposals. Farmers, particularly those unable to farm due to aging or labor shortages, worry that various circumstances for land ownership, such as inheritance and leasing, may be uniformly regulated.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and rural sources, the government has been conducting a survey since May 18 on 1.36 million hectares of agricultural land acquired after January 1, 1996.
As of the end of July, the basic survey was completed for 97% of the targeted area, covering 1.32 million hectares and 10.13 million parcels, with 27% of these parcels, or 2.84 million, classified as suspected violations of land law. The basic survey utilized administrative data, satellite imagery, and artificial intelligence to verify ownership, actual cultivation, and land use status, subsequently identifying parcels requiring field investigations.
Since August, in-depth investigations have been underway, with surveyors visiting sites to confirm actual cultivation, illegal leasing, unauthorized conversion, and fallow land violations. The Ministry plans to complete the investigations by December and will proceed with necessary follow-up procedures based on confirmed cases.
Concerns have been raised in rural communities about whether the circumstances of landowners will be adequately considered during the survey process. For instance, individuals who inherited land but cannot farm due to age, illness, or urban residency may find their situations misclassified as violations. Additionally, tenant farmers are worried about losing their cultivated land due to changes in leasing agreements.
The recent amendment to the land law, which strengthened the land disposal order from discretionary to mandatory, has further fueled anxiety. However, the Ministry has clarified that even if violations are confirmed, immediate land disposals will not occur. There are procedures based on self-disposal periods and cultivation status for typical violations. The Ministry emphasized that it will differentiate between speculative land acquisitions and minor violations arising from rural realities.
As anxiety over the comprehensive survey grows, some reports suggest that land transactions have decreased since the survey began. However, the Ministry actively refuted claims of a significant drop in transactions or prices, stating that land transaction volume has actually increased by 2.2% compared to the same period last year, and the decline in actual transaction prices has slowed.
In response to the growing backlash from rural communities, President Lee Jae-myung addressed the agricultural land survey during a press conference on September 18. He clarified that the survey is not aimed at forcibly selling the land of farmers who cannot cultivate but is intended to gather basic data on actual land use and potential speculation.
Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, also stated during a press briefing on September 10 that the survey aims to establish data on land ownership and use, and to identify discrepancies between the law and rural realities since the introduction of the land law. The Ministry plans to take strict action against speculative violations while focusing on self-correction and guidance for customary or minor violations.
The Ministry aims to complete the in-depth investigations by December. On September 21, the government and the Democratic Party will review the progress of the agricultural land survey and discuss supplementary measures related to land disposal and enforcement fines.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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