FARMLAND PRESERVATION AND UTILIZATION ACT

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Act is to contribute to the promotion of agricultural production by properly regulating the diversion of farmland to ensure its preservation and enhance its utilization.

Article 2(Definitions) #

(1) The term "farmland" under this Act means land used for the cultivation of crops or for the culture of perennial plants or grass regardless of the legal land category thereof and land decided and publicly notified to be used as farmland under other Acts.

(2) The term "diversion" under this Act means making changes in the form and quality of farmland or installing facilities, structures, etc. that interfere with farming in order to use such farmland for purposes other than the cultivation of crops or the culture of perennial plants or trees and grass.

(3) The term "farmland improvement facilities" under this Act means facilities and land directly necessary for the preservation or use of farmland, such as irrigation reservoirs, water channels, farm roads, embankments, water lifting stations, etc.

Article 3(Restrictions on Diversion of Farmland) #

(1) A person who intends to divert farmland located outside of the urban planning districts under Article 2 (2) of the Urban Planning Act and areas designated as the prearranged areas for industrial complexes or areas designated as the industrial development promotion zones (hereinafter referred to as "urban planning zones, etc.") under Article 3 of the Export Industry Industrial Complex Development Act or under Article 2 of the Provincial Industry Development Act shall obtain permission from the Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, Busan City Mayor or Do Governor (hereinafter referred to as "Do Governor") having jurisdiction over the seat of the farmland, as prescribed by Presidential Decree, except for cases where the farmland is to be used as land for purposes falling under any of the following subparagraphs: Provided, That where the same person diverts farmland of which the area is smaller than 19834.8 square meters shall obtain permission from the head of Gu/Si/Gun (hereinafter referred to as "head of Gun") having jurisdiction over the seat of the farmland.

1. Land for farmland improvement facilities;

2. Land for facilities for the preservation of the national territory;

3. Land for a farmer's house and the appurtenant facilities thereto;

4. Land for a farmer's shelter, compost storage house and other agricultural facilities prescribed by Presidential Decree;

5. Land for which a person has obtained permission under Article 5 and uses for the same purpose as the permission has been granted for.

(2) In granting permission under the preceding paragraph, the Do Governor or the head of Gun may reduce the area for the diversion of farmland or add conditions deemed necessary for the protection of farmland or the agricultural and fishery industry.

Article 4(Diversion for Official or Public Purposes) #

(1) When a State agency or a local government intends to divert farmland located outside of the urban planning zones, etc. in order to create or expand facilities for official or public purposes, the State agency shall obtain consent from the Minister of Agriculture, and the local government shall obtain approval from the Minister of Agriculture: Provided, That this shall not apply to the cases where farmland is used for any of the purposes set forth in the following subparagraphs:

1. Land for facilities for national defense or military purposes;

2. Land for national expressways and national roads under the Road Act, railroads, harbors, or airport facilities;

3. Land for farmland improvement facilities

4. Land for facilities for the preservation of the national territory

5. Land for facilities for multi-purpose dams and the land to be submerged due to such dams under the Specific Multi-Purpose Dams Act;

6. Land for the expansion of existing educational facilities of schools established under the Education Act.

(2) The agency implementing the projects under each subparagraph of the preceding paragraph shall not divert farmland unless it is necessary and unavoidable for the fulfillment of the project objectives.

(3) The Minister of Agriculture may entrust parts of his/her authority under paragraph (1) to Do governor, as prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 5(Change of Rights for Diversion) #

Where a person transfers ownership of farmland or establish or transfer surface rights or leasehold interests on farmland in order to divert farmland located outside of the urban planning zones, etc., he/she shall obtain permission from the Do governor as prescribed by Presidential Decree, except in cases under subparagraphs 1 to 4, paragraph (1), Article 3.

(2) Any application form for registration of the establishment or transfer of rights under the preceding paragraph shall be accompanied by the permission form thereof.

(3) The proviso of Article 3 (1) and the provisions of Article 3 (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the permission under paragraph (1).

Article 6(Demarcation of Boundaries for Land Permitted for Diversion) #

Any person who has received permission under Article 3 or 5 and any organization that has obtained consent or approval under Article 4 (1) shall, where the farmland concerned is not to be diverted within three months from the date of such permission, consent or approval, carry out the proper demarcation of boundaries discernibly indicating the area, and shall put up a signboard describing the date, month and year of permission, consent or approval and the name of the agency granting such permission, consent or approval, the purpose of diversion and the lot size, etc..

Article 7(Cancellation and Change of Permission on Diversion, etc.) #

(1) The Minister of Agriculture, the Do governor, or the head of Gun may, where any person who has obtained permission under Article 3 or 5 falls under any of the cases referred to in the following subparagraphs, cancel such permission, change any of the permitted matters, or order the suspension of the relevant construction or operation.

1. Where it has been proved that the person has obtained permission by fraudulent or other unjust means;

2. Where the person has obtained permission for an area which is excessively larger than necessary for a project or has become excessively larger than necessary for a project due to a reduction in the size of the project after having obtained permission;

3. Where the person has violated any purpose of condition of permission;

4. Where a person has not executed the purported project within two years from the date of permission: Provided, That this shall not apply to any case where the commencement of construction has been delayed due to any reasons unattributable to the person who has obtained such permission and the person has obtained permission for a period extension.

(2) Where permission has been canceled or any of the permitted matters has been changed under the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Agriculture, Do governor, and the head of Gun may order the person who has obtained such permission to restore the farmland concerned to its original state within a fixed period.

Article 8(Liability for Public Investment Expenses) #

(1) Where any farmland for which permission has been granted under Article 3 or 5 benefits from any farmland improvement project implemented with any investment by the State or a local government, the person who has obtained such permission shall pay to the Government the relevant investment expenses in accordance with the liability standard amount determined and publicly notified each year by the Minister of Agriculture, as prescribed by Presidential Decree.

(2) The liability standard amount of the preceding paragraph shall not exceed 3/10 of the relevant project expenses calculated at the time of permission.

Article 9(Change of Land Category of Privately Owned Farmland) #

The land category of privately owned farmland located outside of the urban planning zone, etc. shall not be changed into land category other than that of farmland, except for cases falling under any of the following subparagraphs:

1. Where farmland is diverted by obtaining permission under Article 3 or 5;

2. Where farmland is diverted for any of the purposes falling under subparagraphs 1 to 4, paragraph (1), Article 3;

3. Where the form and quality of the farmland is considerably changed due to natural disaster, force majeure and other equivalent causes, and there is no prospect for restoring it to its original state.

Article 10(Obligation of Cultivation) #

(1) The owner of farmland shall strive for the enhancement of the soil fertility of farmland and cultivate it for crops or utilize it for the culture of perennial plants or trees or grass pursuant to its purpose of use.

(2) The head of Gun may, when there exists a person who idles farmland or is lazy in its cultivation and other utilization thereof, issue necessary instructions to such person to ensure the efficient utilization of the farmland. In this case, the head of Gun shall, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, give the owner of the farmland an advance notice of any measures to be taken under Article 13 if the owner fails to follow such instructions.

Article 11(Report of Expected Idle Farmland) #

In case of the expected idling of farmland due to the illness, relocation, job change of an owner of farmland, the owner shall, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, report it to the head of Si (in case of a Si in which there are Gus, referring to the head of Dong) /Eup/Myeon having the jurisdiction over the seat of the farmland.

Article 12(Determination of Minimum Standard Yield) #

(1) In order to promote the efficient utilization of farmland, the head of Gun shall determine every third year the minimum standard yield for the farmland under his/her jurisdiction, as prescribed by Presidential Decree.

(2) The head of Gun may appoint or commission as investigator relevant employees of the agricultural guidance office of the Gu/Si/Gun concerned, or the agricultural cooperative or farmland improvement cooperative of the Si/Gun concerned and have them conduct investigation necessary for the determination of the minimum standard yield under the preceding paragraph.

(3) The head of Gun shall, upon the determination of the minimum standard yield under paragraph (1), publicly notify it by Ri/Dong without delay.

Article 13(Designation of Cultivators) #

(1) The head of Gun may designate a person who will cultivate farmland falling under any of the following subparagraphs instead of its owner from among persons who hope to do so:

1. Idle farmland of which the owner is clearly identified;

2. Idle farmland of which the owner does not exist or is not clearly identified even if the owner does exist;

3. Farmland whose annual yield has fallen short of the minimum standard yield under the preceding Article for not less than two consecutive years without any natural disasters, force majeure or other equivalent causes.

(2) The head of Gun shall, upon the designation under the preceding paragraph, deliver the notice prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture to the person who will cultivate the farmland and the owner of the farmland and shall, in case of farmland under subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph, publicly notify its meaning by Ri/Dong.

(3) A person who has obtained designation under paragraph (1) and cultivates farmland instead of the owner of the farmland shall pay, to the owner of the farmland as the land use fee, the amount converted into the relevant year's government purchase price of the grain whose quantity shall be determined in advance by the head of Gun, not exceeding 2/10 of the amount calculated by deducting the corresponding amount of farmland tax from the standard yield of the relevant farmland under the Land Taxation Standard Survey Act and within the limits set to ensure the stability of the cultivator's agricultural management: Provided, That where the actual yield falls short of the standard yield due to natural disasters, force majeure and other equivalent causes and the head of Gun confirms it as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, the land use fee shall be the amount calculated by multiplying the converted amount by a figure obtained from dividing the actual yield by the standard yield.

(4) When the head of Gun deems that the farmland under the preceding paragraph has become so barren that it is impossible to efficiently cultivate it without spending excessively more efforts or fertilizers to it compared with other farmland, he/she may, in cases of the farmland under subparagraph 1 or 2 of paragraph 1 only, have the land use fees unpaid for a fixed period.

Article 14(Report of Change in Cultivated Plants) #

In case of changing farmland for crop cultivation into farmland for the culture of perennial plants or grass, it shall, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, be reported to the head of Gun.

Article 15(Utilization of Farmland in Urban Planning Zone, etc.) #

The provisions under Article 10 through 14 shall apply to farmland for which permission has been granted under Article 3 or 5 and also to farmland located in an urban planning zone, etc., for which the purpose of diversion has not yet been executed.

Article 16(Exchange, Subdivision or Consolidation of Farmland) #

(1) In order to ensure the rationalization of agricultural management, the head of Gun shall work out and implement policy measures necessary for nurturing the exchange, subdivision or consolidation of farmland.

(2) In order to ensure the efficient implementation of policy measures under the preceding paragraph, the State and local governments may, within budgetary limits, subsidize all or part of expenses for the registration or provide necessary financial support for the price difference between exchanged farmlands.

Article 17(Formulating and Keeping of Farmland Cards and Farmland Ledgers) #

(1) For the efficient utilization and management of farmland, the head of a Gu/Si or Eup/Myeon shall draw up and keep on file the farmland card by lot and the farmland ledger by farmhouse.

(2) If necessary for drawing up and arranging farmland cards and the farmland ledger under the preceding paragraph and to ascertain other actual conditions of utilization of farmland, the head of a Gun/Eup/Myeon may have the owner of the farmland or the cultivator thereof report specific matters or have a relevant public official investigate the conditions thereof.

(3) When the relevant public official investigates under the preceding paragraph, he/she shall carry a certificate indicating his/her authority and shall display it to the interested persons.

(4) Necessary matters concerning the formats of the farmland card and farmland ledger and the preparation and management thereof shall be prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Article 18(Fees) #

A person who applies for permission under Article 3 or 5 shall pay a fee prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 19(Enforcement Decree) #

Matters necessary for the enforcement of this Act shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Article 20(Penal Provisions) #

(1) Any person falling under any of the following subparagraph shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or by a fine corresponding to not less than 2/10 and not more than 3/10 of the standard market price of the farmland concerned under the Registration Tax Act:

1. A person who has obtained permission under Article 3 or 5 by fraudulent or other unjust means;

2. A person who has not obtained permission under Article 3 or 5 or has diverted farmland in violation of the purpose of such permission.

(2) Crimes under the preceding paragraph shall be dealt with only after a complaint is filed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Do Governor or the head of Gun.

Article 21(Joint Penal Provisions) #

Where the representative of a corporation, or an agent, employee, or other servant of a corporation or individual commits a violation under paragraph (1) of the preceding Article in connection with the business of the corporation or individual, not only shall such violator be punished, the corporation or individual shall also be punished by a fine under the same paragraph of the same Article.