Cheung Wa Dae Steps Forward to Clear Rumors Amid Growing Farmer Anxiety Over Farmland Survey

As farmers' anxieties grow over the nationwide complete investigation of farmland for the first time in 78 years, fearing that the government might force them to sell their land and buy it back at a bargain price, Cheung Wa Dae (the presidential office) has stepped forward to directly clarify the situation.

Lee Young-su, the Presidential Secretary for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, appeared on the YouTube broadcast "Fact Bangatgan" today (the 22nd) and denied the forced sale rumors, stating, "If you do not want to sell, you do not have to sell."

The government has been conducting a comprehensive investigation targeting farmland nationwide since May.

The target includes approximately 1.36 million hectares of farmland acquired since the implementation of the Farmland Act in 1996.

As a result of the basic investigation conducted until the end of July, 27 percent of about 10.13 million parcels were classified as having a potential violation of the Farmland Act.

However, this does not mean that all of the 27 percent are illegal farmland or subject to disposal.

In-depth investigations are currently underway to determine actual violations through on-site verifications and other methods.

Cheung Wa Dae explained that the purpose of this investigation is not to dispose of ordinary farmers' land, but to screen out speculative farmland.

The main targets for disposal include farmland acquired in land transaction permission zones, co-acquired through auctions, acquired through fraudulent agricultural corporations and illegally leased, or left fallow, according to the office.

It stated that cases where farming was stopped due to old age or health issues, or inherited farmland, are different.

The office explained that if a person is 60 or older and has farmed directly for five years or more, private leasing is permitted, and inherited farmland of less than 1 hectare can also be consigned.

It also stated that claims asserting disposal notices have already been sent out as a result of the comprehensive investigation are not true.

Secretary Lee said, "Not a single disposal notice has been sent out due to the 2026 farmland comprehensive investigation."

Regarding claims that the government intends to buy farmland at low prices, he explained that the policy is to purchase general farmland at market value and speculative farmland at the official publicly assessed land price.

In addition, addressing claims that farmland prices have fallen due to the comprehensive investigation, he stated that farmland transaction volume increased by 2.2 percent this year while prices fell by 4.4 percent. He explained that compared to the average annual drop of 9 percent following the LH speculation scandal in 2021, the decline has actually slowed down.

While apologizing for causing anxiety among farmers, Cheung Wa Dae emphasized that the purpose of the comprehensive investigation is to filter out speculative farmland and improve the farmland system to fit reality.

(Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Design by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.