Politics · South Korea · 8 hrs ago
South Korea says farmland checks target suspected speculative use
South Korea’s agriculture minister Song Mi-ryung met farmers and local officials in Hamyang on October 14 to explain a nationwide farmland inspection.
The checks are not meant to punish farmers who work their land, she said.
The government says possible disposal applies to four suspected types of misuse, including leaving farmland idle after buying it in restricted areas and using protected farmland for activities such as campsites or storage yards.
Inherited land and land that cannot be farmed are not targets, Song said, and other cases will not face disposal orders or fines.
The inspection also aims to address problems for people who farm rented land without written contracts and therefore cannot receive direct payments.
Initial checks flagged 27% of 10.13 million plots for possible violations, but this does not mean all those plots will be taken.
The ministry plans to finish field inspections this month and then investigate whether the main suspected forms of speculation are present.
South Korea’s agriculture minister said farmland inspections are aimed at suspected speculative use, not at punishing farmers who are genuinely farming.
The government says only four types of suspected misuse may lead to orders to dispose of farmland.
The Agriculture Ministry classified 27% of the country’s 10.13 million farmland parcels as potentially unlawful after a preliminary review.
It completed the basic review in July and plans to finish on-site inspections this month before conducting further checks for major speculation patterns.
Farmers and local representatives at a meeting in Hamyang voiced concerns about possible land sales and called for inspections to reflect local conditions.
- Who
- Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; local officials and farmers also attended a meeting.
- What
- The government says its farmland checks target suspected speculative use, not farmers who are genuinely farming.
- When
- The meeting was held on October 14, 2026. The ministry completed its basic review in July and plans to finish on-site checks in October.
- Where
- Hamyang County Office, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
- Why
- The ministry says it is correcting misunderstandings about the inspections and addressing suspected misuse of farmland.
Government
Local farming representatives
Purpose of checks
Government
The ministry says inspections are not meant to punish farmers who genuinely farm and target four specified types of suspected misuse.
Local farming representatives
Some representatives understand the aim of addressing speculation but say rural areas have little speculative buying and need checks suited to local conditions.
Possible land sales
Government
The ministry says only the four specified types may be subject to disposal orders.
Local farming representatives
A local onion-grower representative said tenant farmers had worried that land they farm would be sold.
The Agriculture Ministry completed its basic review of farmland.
Minister Song Mi-ryung attended a meeting with local representatives and farmers in Hamyang to explain the inspection and planned policy changes.
The ministry said it planned to complete on-site inspections and then carry out further checks for major patterns of speculation.
- Farmland parcels reviewed
- 10.13 million
- Potentially unlawful parcels
- 27% of the total
- Types targeted
- Four categories of suspected misuse
- Meeting location
- Hamyang County Office, South Gyeongsang Province
- Farmland area
- 1.95 million hectares
- Area used as cultivated fields
- 1.5 million hectares
What people are saying
Farmland inspections are not meant to punish farmers who diligently farm.
Today, all the misunderstandings have been cleared up.
In cities and the Seoul metropolitan area there is speculative acquisition, so I understand the purpose of the farmland inspections, but in rural areas there is virtually no speculation, and inspections need to reflect local conditions.