Cheorwon County Begins Distributing 21.86 Billion Won in Basic Public Direct Payments to 5,417 Farming Households

Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province announced on December 2, 2025, that it plans to distribute 21.86 billion won in basic public direct payments to 5,417 farming households starting this week.

Aerial view of Cheorwon County Office. Provided by Cheorwon County

The Public Direct Payment System is a program that integrates and reorganizes the previous rice (fixed and variable) and field direct payment projects. There are two types of direct payments: area-based and small-scale farmer direct payments. Small-scale farmers receive a fixed amount of 1.3 million won, while all others receive area-based direct payments, which are calculated by summing the unit price for each area segment.

Recipients of the basic direct payment must faithfully comply with requirements aimed at enhancing the public functions of agriculture and rural communities. If a recipient violates any of the requirements stipulated by the direct payment system, 10% of the total payment will be deducted. If the same obligation is violated again in the following year, the deduction rate will double compared to the previous year, up to a maximum of 40%. This year, 45 households are subject to payment reduction, due to reasons such as failure to maintain farmland shape and function during on-site inspections by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, or failure to complete mandatory education. Applicants are advised to pay special attention to these requirements.

Lee Hyunjong, Mayor of Cheorwon County, stated, "I hope that the public direct payments distributed this time will provide at least some support for the management stability of farming households struggling due to the economic downturn."

Cheorwon County received applications for the basic public direct payment system both online and in person from February to May this year. From June to November, the county completed implementation checks and mass verification for applicants and farmland. The county also urged next year’s applicants to make sure to verify their farmland registration and farm business registration, and to apply within the designated period at the township office that has jurisdiction over the location of their farmland.

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