President Lee Emphasizes Effective Implementation of 'Land to the Tiller' Principle... Calls for Measures to Ensure Sale Order Effectiveness

President Lee Chairs Cabinet Meeting

"Disposal obligation disappears if you self-cultivate just once in three years—a meaningless law"

"Ensure law-abiding citizens do not suffer losses"

Orders review of direct payment subsidies for fa

On May 6, President Lee Jaemyung criticized the current regulation that allows landowners to escape the obligation to dispose of farmland as long as they cultivate it once within three years after being caught for not actually farming. He called it "a law that is essentially meaningless." President Lee stated, "Those who do not farm should not be allowed to own farmland," and called for institutional reforms to effectively enforce the principle that 'those who till the land should own it.'

Yonhap News Agency

During a Cabinet meeting that day, after receiving a report from Minister Song Miryung of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on plans to conduct a comprehensive farmland survey, President Lee said, "Fundamentally overhaul the system to make it effective, and enforce realistic measures to ensure the disposal of land that violates the Farmland Act."

Responding to criticism that it is difficult to monitor self-cultivation and enforce disposal, President Lee remarked, "Because the system is structured this way, everyone thinks 'once you buy the land, that's the end of it.'" He continued, "Once you get approval and proof of self-cultivation to acquire farmland, people think it doesn't matter what they do afterward. They believe they can leave the farmland uncultivated, and if they get caught, they just have to pretend to farm once every three years to get an exemption."

President Lee particularly emphasized, "If someone is caught not farming, a disposal obligation arises, but the current provision that allows this obligation to disappear if you farm even once within the next three years is a meaningless law. If someone has been caught and becomes subject to disposal, they should immediately become subject to disposal if they fail to actually cultivate during the next farming season."

He also stressed that the structure of farmland speculation and ownership through loopholes should not disadvantage law-abiding citizens. President Lee stated, "This society has become rife with illegal behavior. Those with power or cunning find ways to avoid consequences, while only the honest get caught. We must ensure that ordinary people who follow the law do not feel disadvantaged." In response, Minister Song said, "We intend to strengthen those aspects this time."

President Lee also called for ensuring the effectiveness of orders to sell farmland suspected of speculation. He said, "There must be concrete enforcement measures in case an order to sell is not carried out. Alternatives such as 'forcing the sale to the Farmland Bank at a specified price' should be considered." This highlights the current issue that there are insufficient enforcement measures even when a sale order is issued under the current system.

Yonhap News Agency

President Lee also instructed a review of issues related to direct payment subsidies for farmland. He remarked, "Previously, there was considerable controversy over whether politicians were receiving these payments while owning farmland. We should check how things are these days." He added, "Even when I was the mayor of Seongnam, I found that it is almost impossible to actually issue a sale order due to legal and institutional constraints, and there are not enough officials to conduct investigations. Ultimately, we need to strengthen the reporting reward system and make good use of it."

President Lee further directed Minister Song to "properly implement realistic requirements for farmland preservation charges. Do not be concerned about others' opinions." He then asked Minister Song, "Do you own any farmland?" When Minister Song replied, "No," President Lee smiled and said, "It would have been a big problem if you did."

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