Song Mi-ryung rebuffs Jang Dong-hyeok's claims on farmland survey

Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung rebuffed claims by People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok that the government's nationwide farmland survey "takes away farmland from farmers," saying "most of it stems from misunderstanding and is not true." She reaffirmed the ministry's stance that while speculative farmland ownership will be dealt with strictly, cases where a gap exists between conditions on the ground and the law — such as elderly farmers leaving land fallow, inherited farmland or customary leases — will not be uniformly punished but instead guided toward legalization.

Song made the remarks Thursday at a press briefing at Government Complex Sejong on the controversy surrounding the nationwide farmland survey.

Earlier, Jang criticized the government's nationwide farmland survey on his Facebook page Sunday. "After stripping people of their homes, now they are stripping farmers of their farmland," Jang wrote, adding that the "indiscriminate nationwide farmland survey should be halted immediately, and the government should focus instead on proper agricultural policy reform." He said farmers who want to sell their land cannot find buyers, while tenant farmers live in fear that landlords will demand their land back, calling it not the principle of "land to those who till it" but rather "guilt to those who till it."

On this, Song said, "I saw what the leader of the main opposition party wrote," and added, "For the most part, he simply repeated misunderstandings that are circulating out there."

"After reading through all of it, I concluded that this is not true," she said, explaining that "several civic groups, agricultural organizations, and the Democratic Party have also released rebuttal materials showing that this does not reflect the facts." She went on to say, "I will not refute each point one by one here, but most of it stems from misunderstanding and is not true."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs launched the nationwide farmland survey on May 18 and completed the initial survey by late July. The survey covers 1.36 million hectares of farmland nationwide. Based on the initial results, about 27 percent of parcels were classified as requiring an in-depth review. The ministry plans to conduct the in-depth review through December and, if necessary, hold hearings to confirm actual violations.

The largest share of cases flagged for in-depth review involved suspected illegal leases. Other cases included suspected unauthorized fallowing, illegal land-use conversion and ownership-related violations.

Being flagged for in-depth review does not automatically lead to punishment, the ministry said. "Cases of suspected unauthorized fallowing often involve neglected farmland in rural areas, left idle because the farmer is elderly or struggling to keep farming," Song said. "Some of these are not treated as illegal, since elderly or ill farmers are allowed to lease out their land."

She added, "While these cases are subject to in-depth review, they will not be subject to punishment or crackdowns," and stressed, "We need to distinguish between speculation and the customary practices of law-abiding farmers that may appear to be legal violations."

The ministry is also pursuing ways to apply the Farmland Act more flexibly to reflect conditions on the ground, such as when elderly farmers leave land fallow or lease it out because health problems make farming difficult.

For inherited farmland, options include private leases between individuals or entrusting the land to the Farmland Bank. The ministry is preparing measures that, even where a case may appear to violate the Farmland Act, prioritize voluntary correction, legalization and guidance over crackdowns, taking on-the-ground circumstances into account. It also plans not to issue blanket restoration orders in cases such as farmers using part of a greenhouse as storage or leaving some farmland unused, taking field conditions into account.

The ministry will also encourage the conversion of customary verbal lease agreements in rural areas into written contracts. "Most rural leases have traditionally been made verbally, so we have provided extensive guidance to help farmers switch to written contracts," Song said. "Compared to the same period last year, the number of written contracts has increased 80 percent."

The ministry says it intends to use the survey not simply as a crackdown but as an opportunity to rebuild the farmland management system. It noted that no proper database detailing farmland ownership and use has been established in the roughly 30 years since the Farmland Act was introduced in 1996.

"The goal is to build a meaningful database on farmland ownership and use, and to improve the parts of the system that no longer fit reality after 30 years of the Farmland Act," Song said. "Cases that can be seen as a form of speculation will be dealt with firmly, but for the customary legal violations of law-abiding farmers or minor issues that need correcting, this is not meant for punishment or crackdowns — it is meant to set things right."

To address the problem Jang raised — that farmers who want to sell their land cannot find buyers — the government plans to expand the role of the Farmland Bank. It has increased next year's Farmland Bank budget by about 25 percent and is seeking additional funding during the National Assembly's budget review process.

"What matters is not simply buying up farmland put up for sale, but focusing on securing publicly stockpiled farmland to properly supply land to young people and others looking to enter farming," Song said. "We will discuss this with the National Assembly as well."

"Talk has spread suggesting the government is taking away all farmland, and it seems to be circulating in a way that invites malicious misunderstanding," Song said. "That is not the case — this is about correcting the gap between the field and the law to match reality." Starting next week, the ministry plans to strengthen case-by-case guidance on issues such as elderly farmers' fallow land, inherited farmland and leases, and is also considering setting up a consultation center.