Jeonnam Province Requires Prior Notification for Farmland Improvement Cutting and Filling Work

Mandatory Reporting from January
Applicable to Farmland Areas Over 1,000㎡
For Cutting or Filling Over 50cm in Height or Depth
Use of Coastal Mudflat Soil as Filling Material Prohibited

Jeollanam-do restricts the use of tidal flat soil near the seaside when using embankment for farmland improvement. The photo shows the area of Mangwol-ri, Illo-eup, Muan, where tidal flat soil was used. Provided by Jeonnam Province.

Jeollanam-do announced on the 19th that, starting from January this year, due to the implementation of the mandatory farmland improvement reporting system, anyone planning to carry out cutting or filling work for farmland improvement must submit a prior report to the city or county where the farmland is located.

The farmland improvement activity reporting system was introduced to prevent environmental pollution and farmland damage caused by illegal waste landfilling and indiscriminate filling, as well as to promote efficient management and productivity improvement of farmland.

If you wish to carry out farmland cutting or filling, you must submit the following documents to the farmland department of the city or county where the farmland is located: ▲Farmland improvement report ▲Business plan ▲Documents proving ownership or usage rights of the farmland ▲Documents proving the soil is suitable for farmland improvement ▲Damage prevention plan, and other related documents.

However, cases are exempt from the farmland improvement reporting requirement if they fall under the following: ▲If development activity permission has been obtained ▲If the project is directly carried out by the state or a local government ▲If it is an emergency measure for disaster recovery or relief ▲If the cutting or filling is small-scale, such as within 50cm in height or depth and on a parcel area of 1,000㎡ or less.

If cutting or filling is carried out without prior farmland improvement reporting, a penalty of up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million KRW may be imposed. In addition, administrative measures including an order to restore the original state may be issued if violations are detected.

In particular, under the newly implemented farmland law, controversial materials such as coastal mudflat soil are now classified as unsuitable soil and cannot be used as filling material.

Kim Hyunmi, Director of Agricultural Policy at Jeollanam-do, urged, “We will do our utmost to promote the rapid establishment of the farmland improvement system implemented this year.”

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