Song Mi-ryeong: "No Disposition Notices Have Been Sent in the Farmland Full Survey"

In rural areas, rumors are circulating that the state is forcibly seizing farmland, that violations bring immediate disposition orders and enforcement penalties, that tenant farmers are being evicted overnight, and that farmland prices are collapsing and weakening NongHyup. When the host listed these rumors one by one, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong dismissed them, saying, "If I address them one by one, none of them is true."

The host nevertheless said the very term "full survey" inevitably creates the perception that it is meant to uncover legal violations and take administrative action.

Minister Song said she gave an interim and progress report related to the farmland full survey at the senior ruling-party-government consultation on the 21st. It was the same implementation method she had explained consistently from the start, but it was a moment where she acknowledged, "There are some misunderstandings and concerns, so it may cause heartache."

She said she reported specific supplementary directions at the ruling-party-government consultation, saying, "We are considering this kind of plan, and we will proceed with follow-up measures in this way." The host said that since misunderstandings can arise, communicating so that farmers and the public understand is also the minister's job.

Behind it is the assessment that the Farmland Act, in force since January 1996 and now 30 years old, fails to properly reflect reality. The principle of farmland-to-the-tiller has exceptions, but the principle is maintained, and the gap between reality and the system is considerable.

Minister Song said existing farmland use surveys covered only 10–15% of all farmland. Since all farmland had never been examined at once, there was no clear data on who owned it, how it was cultivated, leased, or converted. After the 2021 case in which public institution employees bought farmland aiming for development gains, voices calling for reforming the farmland system grew louder.

Nevertheless, it was not conveyed to each person in the field, and she acknowledged, "We need to explain more carefully and communicate more with the field." The host revisited this point as where misunderstandings arose in the field.

The basic survey began on May 18 and ended on July 30, and the results were briefed. Of South Korea's total farmland of 1.95 million hectares, 1.36 million hectares were made subject to the survey, because only farmland whose ownership changed after the Farmland Act took effect in 1996 is subject to the Act.

The survey found that farmland suspected of violations amounted to 27%, or about 300,000 parcels. Minister Song said, "27% does not mean it will immediately be disposed of; it is an area requiring in-depth investigation." The largest share of the 27% is suspected illegal leasing: cases where farm entity registration and farmland ledger show self-cultivation, but administrative information such as fertilizer purchase records does not confirm actual cultivation. It has now moved to the in-depth investigation stage and is underway.

For farmland people cannot physically reach, drones are used to photograph and verify it.

To the question of how many people are subject to the detailed survey, she replied, "It is difficult to determine by number of people now; what can be confirmed is about 300,000 parcels, by parcel or farmland scale." Suspected illegal leasing, she said, involves discrepancies between farm entity registration, self-cultivation indications in the farmland ledger, and administrative information such as fertilizer purchase records, and requires confirming actual cultivation.

When a reporter asked whether anything like a disposition notice had gone out, Minister Song replied, "No, there are no advance notices or anything like that." She did acknowledge that some people may be alarmed after receiving an in-depth investigation notice and think they will be disposed of.

Dispositions are not finalized, and the in-depth investigation must run through December. Even at the finalization stage, the policy is to hold hearings so there are no unjust cases. Since dispositions will not go out until next year, she stated flatly that "I received a disposition notice now" is completely a lie.

Among those directly engaged in farming, 69.7% are 65 or older, and even among those 70 or older, more than 50% are 70 or older. When a reporter asked whether old age becomes grounds for fallowing, Minister Song replied, "Old age is not included among the grounds."

She said she views this as a requirement to be revised in this Farmland Act revision. "It must of course be done, and the survey is being conducted to discover such things," she said, restating the purpose of the survey.

It is stipulated that an enforcement penalty of 25% of the farmland value can be imposed. Once a determination is made, a one-year disposition obligation period is given. If correction is made during that year, such as farming or restoring illegal conversion to its original state, there is no problem.

If not corrected within the year, a disposition order is issued and another six months are given. If still not fulfilled, an enforcement penalty is imposed.

Minister Song laid out the steps in order: one year of disposition obligation, six months of disposition order, and a 25% enforcement penalty.

Minister Song's position is that clear speculation will be dealt with strictly. On the other hand, she said facilities built without conversion permits because they are needed for farming, such as warehouses, will be legalized through this survey. Facilities without conversion permits will be retroactively approved, while distinguishing facilities truly necessary for farming from those that are not.

She directly cited the example of running a restaurant inside a vinyl greenhouse as a problematic case. She said this is "legalizing illegal conversion for the first time in 38 years" and that she will push to enact a Special Measures Act to ease the burden on the public.

The plan is to enact the Special Measures Act within the year to defer or legalize dispositions going out from next year, and to immediately begin revising the Farmland Act as well. She said that since revising the Farmland Act takes time, she will ensure there are no victims of good faith.

In the 1950s, agriculture accounted for 80% of the overall industrial structure, and the Farmland Act reflecting that reality preserved the farmland-to-the-tiller principle. Today the rural population is about 19% of the total, and the agricultural population within that is far smaller.

Citing again the figure that 70% of farm operators are 65 or older, she said there could be questions about whether it is right to keep adhering to the farmland-to-the-tiller principle. The argument for "farmland-to-the-user," which would allow anyone who owns farmland to use it rather than requiring the tiller to own it, was also introduced.

Minister Song said that despite the constitutional principle, much has already been implemented in the Farmland Act, but that institutional reform is needed to accept reality more innovatively. To the proposal that young people be allowed to rent farmland from elderly farmers at a reasonable level and pursue innovative farming methods and smart farm businesses, she replied, "I strongly agree."

Reasons cited for non-use include unfavorable-condition areas, landlocked parcels, land already converted to roads, and areas overgrown with trees like forest land.

The purpose of the full survey is to determine who uses which farmland, how, why it is not used, and what facilities have been built on it.

She said unused farmland can be invested in, restored to farmland use, and then handed over to young people. If the land is already unsuitable for use as farmland, it can be redirected to other uses for regional development, she said.

The interviewer said that while the gap between law and reality should be acknowledged, the principle of strictly screening out clear speculation must not be abandoned. At the same time, she called for realistic administration regarding individuals' property rights.

Minister Song replied that an institutional framework is needed to harmoniously manage farmland both as private property and as the foundation for food security.

However, her position is that she does not consider it sufficient.

She said she asked lawmakers at the ruling-party-government consultation to increase the budget needed to reorganize the farmland system. There had been complaints that only good land is bought and unfavorable-condition farmland is not, so the law was revised so that farmland subject to disposition must be purchased unconditionally if there are no restrictions on shape or use.

Farmland Bank leasing does not reject applications outright, but there may be people who want to lease with no one to lease to, leaving it in a waiting state. If leasing does not happen due to a mismatch, the direction is to grant a deferral for the period, she replied.

The 2021 farmland speculation case by public institution employees increased demands to overhaul the farmland system, and one response is expanding purchases and leasing through the Farmland Bank, according to the explanation.

She cited the purpose of the farmland survey as correcting a farmland system that does not match reality, properly building a database, and reforming the system. Another goal is to raise farmland productivity and utilization.

She said that since the workforce and methods of farming have changed, the way farmland is used must also change. The idea is to open the way for farmland that cannot be used for agriculture to be used for other purposes.

She emphasized that the basic intent is to create a link for generational transition from an aging workforce to young people. Minister Song said people are too absorbed in whether they will be punished or not, and told those with inherited land not to worry.

He said that if the true meaning and intent had been explained better, the policy would have received more support, but added that it may not be too late, leaving room for that.