Ulju-gun in Ulsan announced Wednesday that it will launch an in-depth investigation into farmland use this month to establish a land-use system centered on actual cultivators.
Civil servants, private investigators and the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service will collaborate on field visits as part of the probe. For remote islands, mountainous areas and large tracts of farmland that are difficult to access, authorities will use drone flights and satellite imagery analysis.
The main targets of the investigation are illegal leases by non-farmers, unauthorized fallowing, installation of illegal structures without proper permits, and violations of farmland ownership limits.
Ulju-gun plans to take strict action against any illegal activity found to be speculative in nature. Cases involving unavoidable fallowing due to old age or health reasons, customary land-swap arrangements between farming households, and minor procedural lapses such as the installation of simple agricultural storage sheds will be handled through guidance and instructions on proper procedures.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will link idle and non-compliant farmland identified through the investigation to the farmland bank system, using it to support young local farmers, promote farm consolidation projects and revitalize community farming operations.
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