Gu Yun-cheol, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, "Order to Sell for Acquisition of Farmland for Speculative Purposes"

Koo Yoon-chul, Minister for Government Policy Coordination, is attending the full meeting of the Political Affairs Committee held at the National Assembly on the 16th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] If farmland is purchased but not farmed, a sale order will be issued. If the sale is not carried out, a penalty fee will be imposed.

On the 16th, Koo Yoon-chul, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, appeared before the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee and stated that when acquiring farmland, frequent inspections will be conducted to check whether actual farming is being done, and if the agricultural management plan is not being followed, a sale order will be issued after a grace period of up to one year.

He explained, "We will establish a Farmland Committee involving local residents, local governments, and experts at the farmland acquisition stage," adding, "The Farmland Committee will prevent farmland acquisition for speculative purposes and will frequently inspect whether actual farming is being conducted after acquisition." He continued, "If the agricultural management plan is not followed, a sale order will be issued after a grace period of up to one year, and if the sale is not made, a penalty fee of 20% will be imposed, with measures being prepared to ensure that after five years, all profits are eliminated."

Regarding the recovery of speculative gains by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and others, he stated that they are reviewing whether to retroactively apply existing regulations to recover unjust profits from farmland acquisition. Director Koo said, "There is controversy over retroactive legislation under current law," and added, "We will keep an open mind and actively engage during the National Assembly's bill discussions."

However, he said that if the purpose is to farm on weekends for actual use, even LH employees can purchase farmland. In response to a question from Yoo Ui-dong, a member of the People Power Party, asking, "If someone says they will farm on weekends for actual use, can LH employees also buy farmland?" he replied, "However, a system is being established where local governments verify and, if the land is not used as a weekend farm, it can be ordered to be sold."

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