The County Returns Half the Size of Unauthorized Occupied Land in Yeouido

1464 Landowners... Yeongnam Region Has the Most

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The military has additionally confirmed that it has illegally occupied private land equivalent to half the size of Yeouido.

On the 1st, the Ministry of National Defense announced that as a result of investigating the status of defense and military facilities installed on private land, the total area of additionally confirmed illegally occupied private land was identified as 1,414,000㎡. This is nearly half the size of Yeouido (2,900,000㎡). Based on the land registry, the number of landowners whose land was illegally occupied by the military is 1,464, and the estimated compensation amount based on the publicly announced land price is approximately 14.2 billion KRW.

This investigation was conducted by surveying private land illegally occupied within military garrisons or fortification facilities from April last year to March this year. By region, Yeongnam has the largest area at 815,000㎡, followed by Gyeonggi with 265,000㎡, Gangwon 122,000㎡, Honam 96,000㎡, and Incheon 52,000㎡.

The Ministry of National Defense had previously identified the status of nationwide military illegal occupation in 2018, at which time the total area of privately and publicly owned land illegally occupied by the military was 21,550,000㎡, seven times the size of Yeouido.

Subsequently, the 'Act on Defense and Military Facility Projects,' promulgated last year, mandates a status survey of illegally occupied private land every two years, and additional illegally occupied land was confirmed in this recent investigation.

The Ministry of National Defense plans to identify landowners by September and individually notify them of the illegal occupation and national compensation procedures by mail starting in November. This information will also be posted on the Ministry’s website (www.mnd.go.kr). Landowners can apply for compensation through the competent district compensation committee, which reviews the eligibility for national compensation and disburses the compensation. Landowners may also directly file a national compensation lawsuit.

The Ministry stated, "From October, when landowners are identified, they can receive guidance on whether their land is illegally occupied by the military and on compensation procedures through the facility units in charge of the respective areas," adding, "The military will lawfully use necessary land by consulting with the owners to lease or purchase it after reviewing the necessity of using the land."

However, the Ministry added that if the military determines that the land is not essential, it will restore the land to its original state and return it to the owner.

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