37 Suspected Violations of Farmland Act in Gwangmyeong Siheung West Over 3 Years

Minbyun and People's Solidarity Release Analysis... "Investigation Expanded Due to Public Development Projects Over the Past 10 Years" Claim

On the 17th, at Areumdri Hall of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, a press conference titled "Analysis Presentation of Violations of the Farmland Act in the 3rd New Town Area and Urging Investigation and Audit of Speculative Forces Using Farmland" was held, hosted by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy's Livelihood Hope Headquarters and the Minbyun Livelihood Economy Committee. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Jo Gang-wook and Moon Je-won] It has been claimed that a total of 37 cases of suspected farmland law violations related to speculation have occurred in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district, the 3rd phase new town where the speculation scandal involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) began, over the past three years.

The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Minbyun - Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) Committee on Livelihood Economy announced on the 17th that after analyzing cases presumed to have purchased farmland for speculative purposes without the intention to engage in agriculture within the 3rd phase new towns from 2018 to February 2021, many of the paddy fields traded during that period appeared to have violated the Farmland Act for speculation, totaling 37 cases.

Kim Nam-geun, Chair of Minbyun's Special Committee on Reform Legislation, stated, "This investigation was conducted only on Garim-dong in Siheung City, which is part of the 3rd phase new town target area," adding, "If the scope is expanded to other 3rd phase new towns or public development projects led by the public sector over the past 10 years, more cases suspected of violating the Farmland Act and speculation will be detected."

According to the investigation results, 18 cases were estimated where the land transaction amount or loan scale raised suspicion that it was not for agricultural management purposes. All owners of these 18 plots purchased the farmland with loans from financial institutions, and in 15 of these cases, except for 3, the maximum claim amount exceeded 80% of the transaction amount. For example, Mr. A, residing in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, owns three farmland plots (total area 5,496㎡) with a purchase price of 1.025 billion KRW, while the maximum claim amount reached 1.859 billion KRW.

Chair Kim explained, "In cases where farmland was purchased through large-scale loans, it is highly likely that the purpose was speculation rather than agricultural management," adding, "Especially when the maximum claim amount exceeds 400 million KRW, assuming a collateral loan interest rate of about 3%, approximately 770,000 KRW in monthly loan interest occurs, which is hard to justify as a weekend farm."

There were nine cases where the farmland location and the landowner's address were far apart, making agricultural activities difficult. Among these, eight were new cases announced on the 2nd, not involving LH employees. The owners' addresses were in Gimhae, Gyeongnam; Seosan, Chungnam; Yongin, Suwon, Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province; and Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa, Dongdaemun, Yangcheon in Seoul, mostly cases where the 'self-agricultural management' restriction under the Farmland Act would be difficult to fulfill.

There were also cases confirmed not to be using farmland for agricultural management. All four cases included farmland plot 1○○-7 in Garim-dong with an area of 891㎡, currently operating as a scrap yard mainly dealing with steel materials. The owners resided in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and Ulleung-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, respectively. One farmland plot (field) of 2,876㎡ was being used as a waste disposal site. Cases were found where fences blocked outsiders' access and the land was left unattended for a long time. Additionally, similar to the speculation allegations involving LH employees announced on the 2nd, cases suspected of violating the Farmland Act due to farmland purchases by multiple co-owners were also newly identified.

Lawyer Lee Kang-hoon, Executive Committee Member of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy Livelihood Hope Headquarters, argued, "The investigation scope should be expanded not only to the entire 3rd phase new towns but also to cases where farmland was included in public development projects led by the public sector over the past 10 years," emphasizing, "Only full-time farmers and agricultural corporations should be allowed to own or lease farmland, and improvements in farmland-related taxation to suppress farmland conversion, prevent speculation, and foster full-time farmers are necessary."

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