Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Conduct Nationwide Farmland Usage Survey by Year-End... Prosecution for Violations of Farmland Act

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 12th that it will conduct a nationwide survey on the utilization status of farmland from the 13th to December 31.

The farmland utilization status survey is an administrative investigation to verify facts related to ownership, transactions, use, and conversion of farmland, and it must be conducted annually on a mandatory basis starting this year.

The survey targets farmland within land transaction permit zones, farmland owned by agricultural corporations, foreigners, and overseas Koreans with foreign nationality, farmland for which farmland acquisition qualification certificates were issued in the past five years (2017?2021), farmland acquired in the past five years by persons without an address in the city, county, or autonomous district where the farmland is located or adjacent areas, and farmland acquired as shared ownership in the past five years. It investigates whether the farmland owners are engaged in agricultural management, unauthorized fallowing, illegal leasing, and illegal conversion.

In the case of agricultural corporations, not only the status of agricultural management but also compliance with farmland ownership requirements will be checked. For agricultural corporations, at least one-third of the registered directors with executive authority (excluding auditors) must be farmers.

If violations of the Farmland Act are confirmed as a result of the farmland utilization status survey, administrative measures such as imposition of farmland disposal obligations and restoration orders will be taken along with prosecution.

Park Sujin, Director of Agricultural Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "Through the survey, we will strengthen post-management after farmland acquisition to establish order under the Farmland Act and continuously manage farmland to prevent it from becoming a target of speculation."

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