The government plans to root out "fake self-farming" plots — land registered to appear as if it is actually being cultivated through changes to the farmland registry alone — in this year's nationwide farmland survey. It plans to identify all cases where farmland registries were altered to register self-farming just before the survey, and to intensify the scrutiny.
According to relevant ministries Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs specified in the farmland survey implementation guidelines distributed to local governments that any farmland newly registered or changed to self-farming in the registry between Feb. 24 and April 30 this year should be classified for in-depth investigation. Feb. 24 is the day President Lee Jae-myung ordered the nationwide farmland survey at a live-broadcast cabinet meeting. At the time, President Lee called for a review of farmland-related taxation, regulations and financing, along with measures to issue sale orders for cases where land was purchased on the pretext of farming and then left neglected.
The guidelines stipulate that self-farming status should not be judged by the farmland registry alone. Self-farming refers to a farmer or agricultural corporation cultivating crops or growing perennial plants on owned farmland. The ministry cross-checks administrative information — including the farmland registry, agricultural business entity records, direct payments, crop disaster insurance, eco-friendly certification, fertilizer and tax-free fuel — based on the individual's own name. If related information is missing or the name does not match, the case may proceed to in-depth investigation even if it is registered as self-farming on paper.
"The intent is to look at cases that suddenly switch to self-farming after the survey policy was announced," a ministry official said. "There is no problem with changing to self-farming under normal circumstances, but cases that suddenly changed to self-farming once the survey was announced raise suspicion."
Farmland suspected of illegal leasing will also be inspected. Under the Farmland Act, farmland leasing is in principle prohibited, but exceptions are allowed for inherited farmland or farmland entrusted to the Farmland Bank. The guidelines classify as in-depth investigation targets any farmland where the lease information in the farmland registry differs from that of the agricultural business entity, or where eco-friendly certification information does not match. Cases where lease information is registered for farmland acquired for weekend or experiential farming purposes will also be re-examined for actual use.
This nationwide survey covers 10.49 million parcels totaling 1.36 million hectares of farmland acquired since the Farmland Act took effect in 1996. A basic survey will be conducted from May to July, followed by an in-depth investigation from August to December, with on-site inspections mandatory for farmland subject to in-depth investigation. If violations are confirmed, follow-up measures such as imposing disposal obligations, disposal orders, restoration orders and criminal complaints will be taken.
However, some point out that farmland changed to self-farming just before the survey cannot immediately be deemed illegal. "An off-season is not an officially defined concept, and differences by crop are significant," an official at an agricultural policy research institute said. "Since paddy leveling work, dry-field crop cultivation and protected horticulture can take place even from late February to late April, there is a need to confirm actual cultivation through administrative information and on-site inspections."
