'Pending Land' Unknown Even to Owners Exceeds Half the Size of Yeouido

Expressway Corporation Fails to Resolve Land Ownership
Over 70 Lawsuits Filed in the Past Five Years
4,006 Ownerless Parcels Covering 1.55 Million Square Meters
Taxpayer Money Wasted on Legal Costs and Compensation

Due to the Korea Expressway Corporation's poor asset management, more than 4,000 parcels of land classified as 'pending land'-areas incorporated into road construction projects but with unresolved ownership-have been left unattended. As a result, over the past five years, more than 70 lawsuits have been filed, leading to concerns about the infringement of citizens' property rights and the waste of taxpayer money.

According to data submitted by the office of Hwang Unha, a member of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Korea Expressway Corporation has been involved in a total of 70 lawsuits related to pending land (including confirmation lawsuits and compensation lawsuits) from 2021 to June 2025. The cumulative amount claimed in these lawsuits approached 1.2 billion won.

By year, there were 21 cases in 2021, 15 in 2022, 21 in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 2 cases ongoing in 2025. The amounts claimed were 460 million won in 2021, 470 million won in 2022, 120 million won in 2023, 80 million won in 2024, and 40 million won up to June 2025, totaling 1.18 billion won over approximately five years.

In terms of outcomes, the Korea Expressway Corporation won 31 cases and lost 19. There were 10 cases where a settlement was recommended by the court and 10 cases where the lawsuit was withdrawn. Of these, the corporation either lost or accepted a settlement recommendation and actually paid out about 180 million won. Due to inadequate administrative processes, taxpayer money has been unnecessarily spent on legal costs and compensation.

Pending land refers to parcels that were incorporated into public projects such as road construction but whose ownership or boundaries have not been finalized. This often occurs when the landowner has died or heirs are unclear at the time of incorporation, when boundary surveys are incomplete, or when registration is not completed due to administrative errors. In such cases, the Korea Expressway Corporation deposits compensation with the court, but if ownership is never finalized, the land remains in a pending status for years. Even though the road is completed, the ownership of the land remains unclear in official records.

As of June 2025, the Korea Expressway Corporation manages a total of 4,006 parcels of pending land, covering an area of 1.55 million square meters. The area of land effectively left unmanaged exceeds half the size of Yeouido. The corporation explained, "The number of parcels fluctuates due to updates to the management register and the completion of new routes. In principle, land incorporated into public projects should go through acquisition procedures and be finalized during the project period, but some pending land remains due to issues like unknown addresses or refusal to negotiate." They added, "We establish annual plans to resolve pending land issues and are making efforts to protect citizens' property rights." In response, Assemblyman Hwang stated, "The state must recover land lost by its citizens. This is not just a matter of administration but a national duty to restore property rights." He further commented, "The repeated lawsuits and negotiations each year indicate that the Korea Expressway Corporation is neglecting on-site inspections and registration management. A comprehensive review of the status of pending land and enhanced transparency in compensation and registration procedures are necessary."

Kim Jihyun, Law Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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