Agriculture ministry raises rewards for farmland violation reports

The agriculture ministry said that it will raise the maximum reward for reporting violations of the Farmland Act to 15 million won from 1.5 million won under a revised enforcement decree.

The decree implements Farmland Act amendments promulgated in February and June. It takes effect Aug. 28. Provisions on temporary nonagricultural use of farmland take effect on the date of promulgation.

The temporary-use changes reduce the permitted period to five years for one category of use and allow extensions of up to 15 years, with each extension limited to five years.

The higher reward cap expands qualifying cases to include when a farmland disposal order becomes final. No reward will be paid if one has already been issued for the same matter under another law or if the report or evidence is considered unreliable.

The Korea Rural Community Corporation will be required to purchase farmland when an owner submits a request following a disposal order unless there are valid grounds to decline. Such grounds include land that no longer functions as farmland, land that has received a conversion permit, undergone conversion consultation or been the subject of a conversion report, and land whose shared ownership or mortgage restrictions make it unsuitable for agricultural management.

The conversion exception applies to farmland outside agricultural promotion zones. It allows applicants to file a notification rather than obtain a permit for detached-home plots of up to 1,000 square meters in rural village protection zones and second-class neighborhood facilities of the same size in rural industrial zones.

"Advance preparations for a comprehensive farmland survey have been completed with this revision of the Farmland Act," Yoon Won-seup, the ministry's agricultural policy director, said. "Through a thorough survey, we will preserve farmland as farmers' means of production rather than a target for speculation."