The government's launch of a comprehensive farmland survey is expected to overhaul a management system that had been limited to partial inspections. While Korea's Farmland Act strictly prohibits owning agricultural land for speculative purposes, enforcement has fallen into a blind spot due to insufficient personnel and tools. Recent advances in artificial intelligence and drone technology are now expected to strengthen oversight capabilities.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 2nd, the government will begin a nationwide survey of all farmland as early as this month.
Given that total farmland area reached approximately 1.5 million hectares nationwide as of last year, authorities will likely prioritize organizing preliminary data and screening high-risk parcels rather than launching immediate on-site inspections. The approach will likely involve cross-referencing administrative data—including ownership information, lease status, farmland acquisition certificate issuance records, and past disposal notices—to narrow down inspection targets.
Priority targets are expected to include farmland within land transaction permit zones, land acquired by non-local residents, and areas near the capital region with high development demand. Analysts say a phased approach focusing first on regions with stronger speculative incentives—such as areas designated for large-scale industrial complexes or semiconductor clusters—is realistic given current staffing and budget constraints.
The timing and methodology also remain variables. On-site inspections must go beyond simply confirming crop cultivation to comprehensively examine illegal conversions, facility installations, and whether actual land use matches stated farming plans. Considering that annual surveys have been timed to coincide with crop identification periods, this comprehensive survey will likely incorporate drones and satellite imagery for enhanced precision after May, when full-scale cultivation begins.
"A nationwide comprehensive survey has limits if relying solely on human inspectors," said Kim Han-ho, professor of agricultural economics at Seoul National University. "Actively utilizing digital technologies such as drones and satellite data could significantly improve survey efficiency while substantially reducing administrative burden."
This survey reflects President Lee Jae-myung's emphasis on normalizing farmland management and ongoing debates about existing regulations' effectiveness. The Farmland Act requires agricultural land to be used for farming purposes and in principle restricts speculative holdings. When violations are detected, a "disposal obligation notice" is issued first, requiring sale within one year. Non-compliance triggers a disposal order, followed by annual enforcement fines of up to 25% of the land's officially assessed value if the property remains unsold after an additional six months.
Enforcement records show numerous cases where disposal orders failed to result in actual sales. According to ministry data, annual enforcement fines rose steadily from 4.795 billion won in 2019 to 6.725 billion won in 2020, 7.708 billion won in 2021, 9.005 billion won in 2022, and 11.158 billion won in 2023.
President Lee's recent emphasis on forced sales of unauthorized fallow land appears aimed at this structural issue. At the Cabinet meeting on the 24th of last month, he stated, "Fallow land is subject to forced sale, yet I'm told there have been no actual sale orders," directing authorities to execute actual disposals. The intent is to secure enforcement power that leads to actual disposals rather than merely imposing fines.
Analysts expect violation detection to increase significantly once the comprehensive survey begins in earnest. However, some warn that the system's effectiveness could be limited without an enforcement structure that ensures actual sales following detection. A government official said, "For this survey, precision in design matters more than speed."
