Weekend Farms Also Required to Submit Farming Plans... Management System Shifts from People to Land (Comprehensive)

On the 10th, saplings such as Salix koreensis were planted on a piece of land in Mujinae-dong, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, where allegations of land speculation by some employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in the Gwangmyeong and Siheung new towns have been raised. / Siheung - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

원본보기 아이콘

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government is strengthening related systems to require even those cultivating farmland under 1000㎡, the current legal standard for farmers, to submit a plan before engaging in weekend farming activities. To prevent speculative splitting by planned real estate companies, a pre-notification system for agricultural corporations will be introduced. To strengthen the crackdown system centered not on 'farmers' but on 'plots,' the management system will be reorganized to register all farmland in the 'Farmland Register.'

On the 29th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the 'Farmland Management Improvement Plan' as part of the government's joint measures to eradicate real estate speculation and prevent recurrence. Although pre-acquisition regulations on farmland have been relaxed to attract agricultural manpower and capital, criticisms arose that there was no proper system to curb speculative acts by so-called 'fake farmers' amid the spread of speculation allegations involving employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in new towns.

원본보기 아이콘

The four major tasks of the 'Farmland Management Improvement Plan' announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs are ▲strengthening qualification screening for farmland acquisition ▲establishing pre- and post-management systems for farmland suspected of speculation ▲strengthening sanctions on illegal acts related to farmland and introducing a system to recover unjust profits ▲expanding farmland management administrative systems.

The core is a new regulation requiring urban residents who wish to acquire farmland under 1000㎡ for weekend or experiential farming purposes to mandatorily submit an 'Experiential Farming Plan' including farming distance and other details. Currently, filling in such information in the plan is not mandatory. As a result, many officials and public institution employees left it blank or submitted false information, making it naturally difficult to detect small-scale farmland speculation.

Also, when submitting a plan for farmland acquisition qualification screening, occupation and farming experience must be mandatorily recorded. Currently, only acquisition area, plans for securing labor and agricultural machinery, and utilization status of owned farmland need to be written. Submission of supporting documents such as employment certificates will also be mandatory. Furthermore, a farmland committee consisting of 10 to 20 members will participate in the qualification screening process. Previously, local government officials conducted the screening alone, but there were many criticisms that this was insufficient to catch speculation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

A pre-notification system for agricultural corporations will be newly introduced to prevent planned real estate corporations from engaging in 'splitting speculation.' The real purpose is to legally prohibit agricultural corporations engaged in real estate business from being established. Agricultural corporations that do not comply with principles such as engaging in non-agricultural businesses like real estate, being inactive for over a year, or receiving three or more correction orders will be banned from acquiring additional farmland.

Crackdowns on farmland suspected of speculation will be increased. Local governments will be required to conduct at least one annual survey on newly acquired farmland suspected of speculation in urban outskirts. The frequency of local government surveys on agricultural corporations will be increased from once every three years to once a year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki is seen giving a follow-up briefing on the results of the Anti-Corruption Policy Council on the 29th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Deputy Prime Minister Hong explained that establishing a farmland ledger system would enable more effective detection of proxy speculation. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

원본보기 아이콘

The 'Farmland Register' system, an administrative farmland data system containing ownership status and history introduced in 1973, will be completely revamped after 48 years. This is to track the history of the specific land (plot) rather than the ownership trends of particular individuals. The competent administrative office will also change from the 'address' to the 'location' of the land. Regarding this, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hong Nam-ki explained at the 'Anti-Corruption Policy Council Results Briefing' that "By conducting both person-based and land (plot)-based investigations, it will be easier to detect speculators using nominee transactions than before," and "Since land-centered investigations cannot be conducted nationwide, planned investigations will be carried out on plots that are highly suspicious."

The registration target will be expanded to include all farmland, not only those over 1000㎡ which meet the agricultural person criteria under the Farmland Act. Also, farmland owners will be required to report changes in important matters such as lease contract conclusions and farmland usage status. A special farmland project police system will be introduced to impose criminal penalties for violations. Special investigative police have the authority to refer violations to the prosecution, and this applies to illegal acts related to farmland as well.

The area around Gwarim-dong, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, where suspicions of speculative investment by employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in new towns have spread. (Image source=Yonhap News)

원본보기 아이콘

Post-penalty strengthening measures have also been prepared. First, if farmland acquisition for speculative purposes is detected, the previous one-year disposal obligation period will be eliminated, requiring immediate disposal. The annual payment of 20% of the land value after detection will be raised to 25%. Under the Farmland Act, penalties for speculative acts are 'imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW,' which will be strengthened to 'imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine up to the land value.'

Advertising illegal farmland acquisition, lease brokerage, etc., will be punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW. Agricultural corporations engaging in real estate or leasing businesses will be subject to surcharges. Particularly, repeatedly establishing and dissolving agricultural corporations will be punishable by 'imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW.' Fines for illegal farmland leasing will be raised from the current 10 million KRW to 20 million KRW.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to propose amendments to the Farmland Act, the Act on Promotion of Agricultural and Fishery Management Entities, the Korea Rural Community Corporation Act, and the Judicial Police Officer Duties Act within this month to institutionalize the improvement plan and aims to revise them as soon as possible. Minister Kim Hyun-soo emphasized, "We must realize the basic principle of the Farmland Act that farmland should not be a target of speculation," and "For the improvement plan to be effective, amendments to four related laws including the Farmland Act and the Act on Promotion of Agricultural and Fishery Management Entities must be promptly made."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

The comprehensive revision of the farmer criteria under the Farmland Act, such as 'cultivation area, number of cultivation days per year, and agricultural product income,' which attracted attention, was not included in this plan. The current legal criteria for farmers are 'cultivating 1000㎡ or more, engaging in agriculture for at least 90 days a year, and generating agricultural product income of 1.2 million KRW or more annually.' Those who install facilities such as fixed greenhouses, mushroom cultivation houses, or vinyl houses over 330㎡ and cultivate crops or perennial plants are also included as farmers.

Such lenient regulations have been cited as the reason why the constitutional principle of 'Gyeongja Yujeon' (the principle that those who cultivate the land should own it) has become ineffective around farmland areas where 'exclusive farming' is practiced. Criticism has arisen that local government investigations alone cannot prevent splitting speculation using planned real estate corporations.

A government official said, "It is true that there are calls to raise the farmer criteria (under current law) to better suit the changed agricultural management conditions," but added, "considering the impact on various policies, we plan to carefully review the necessity of strengthening the criteria with the Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Affairs, related organizations, and others."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.