On-site Inspection to Prevent Fraudulent Receipt of Public Interest Direct Payments: "Monitoring Actual Cultivation Status"

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Conduct Inspections with NACF and Local Governments from the 26th
"Integrated Analysis of Farmland Information, Land Registers, and Resident Data"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government is launching on-site inspections to prevent fraudulent claims of the Basic Public Direct Payment. The focus will be on verifying actual cultivation.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 25th that from the 26th, it will conduct on-site inspections to prevent fraudulent claims of the Basic Direct Payment. The goal is not only to uncover improper cases but also to prevent fraud from the application stage.

They will review last year's recipients of the Basic Direct Payment, new applicants this year, cultivators whose residence and farmland addresses differ, disqualified individuals from the previous year, and those who received multiple agricultural subsidy supports for the same farmland. Special attention will be paid to whether the land is actually being cultivated, whether urban residents meet the main occupation requirements in agriculture, whether members of the same household have applied for small-scale direct payments redundantly, and whether farmland has been subdivided. Specifically, those who ▲ cultivate farmland of 1 hectare or more located in the same or nearby city/county/district (5 hectares for corporations), ▲ have annual agricultural product sales of 9 million KRW or more (45 million KRW for corporations), or ▲ have had their address in the relevant city/district for more than one year and have cultivated at least 0.1 hectares of farmland in that area for more than one year are recognized as having agriculture as their main occupation even if they live in urban areas.

To effectively inspect fraudulent claims, the Ministry plans to link and analyze various administrative data such as agricultural management entities, farmland and farmer information, land (forest) registries, resident information, and elderly long-term care grades. The Ministry, the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS), and local governments will form a joint inspection team to carry out the inspections.

Administrative Disposition Standards by Type of Fraudulent Receipt (Articles 19 and 20 of the Act). (Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)

Last year's recipients will be inspected starting on the 26th, and this year's applicants will be inspected from July. If it is confirmed that registration or receipt was made through false or fraudulent means, administrative actions such as recovery, registration restrictions for up to 8 years, and penalty surcharges up to five times will be imposed according to Articles 19 and 20 of the Agricultural and Rural Public Direct Payment Act.

A Ministry of Agriculture official stated, "Only farmers who actually cultivate can apply for the Basic Direct Payment," and urged, "If you suspect fraudulent claims, please report to the Fraudulent Claims Call Center, NAQS, or local governments." He added, "If fraudulent claims are found during the inspection process, strict measures will be taken according to the law," and said, "We will also promote campaigns and publicity activities to prevent fraud, along with monitoring and reporting violations."

Detailed Implementation Schedule for Preventing Fraudulent Claims of Basic Public Interest Direct Payments. (Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)

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