Sale of Nationalized Land in Recovered Areas Limited to 30,000㎡ for Ownership and 60,000㎡ for Lease

Ministry of Economy and Finance Announces Legislative Notice for the Establishment of Regulations on the Sale and Lease of Nationalized Land in Recovered Areas

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 5th that it will publicly notify the draft enforcement decree titled 'Regulations on the Sale and Lease of Nationalized Land in Recovered Areas' for 40 days until July 15.

Until now, vacant land in recovered areas has faced restrictions on nationalization due to insufficient guarantor requirements, leading to issues such as illegal sales of cultivation rights and discrepancies in lease fees between national land and cultivators of vacant land.

Additionally, people who have been cultivating such vacant land since the establishment of reconstruction villages in the past have not been able to clearly define land ownership and other rights, which has acted as a hindrance to regional development.

This draft enforcement decree is a follow-up measure to the 'Special Measures Act on the Registration of Restoration and Preservation of Ownership for Unrestored Landowners in Recovered Areas,' which was amended in February (effective August 5, 2020) to resolve the issue of vacant land (무주지) in recovered areas. The main points of the amended law include ▲nationalization of land even if guarantors (three or more) are not secured ▲immediate allowance of private sale and lease of nationalized land.

The regulations include eligible persons for sale and methods of sale. Eligible persons for sale are defined as ▲original residents of recovered areas or policy migrants under national relocation policies ▲successors of rights of original residents and policy migrants ▲persons who have moved into recovered areas and have occupied or cultivated the relevant land for a certain period.

The sale method is differentiated based on the area of up to 30,000㎡ per household and the period of reclamation and cultivation, but cannot exceed the area of land currently occupied or cultivated. The sale price will be determined by the arithmetic average of appraisals from three appraisers recommended by the head of the central agency, the mayor or county governor, and the Korea Appraisal Board, respectively.

Leasing can be conducted by private contract to persons who have cultivated the relevant land for a certain period within the limit of 60,000㎡ per household.

A Ministry of Economy and Finance official stated, "We plan to analyze future cadastral re-surveys and land use status results to prepare detailed standards for sale and lease (instructions) and to steadily promote the sale and lease of nationalized land in recovered areas."

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