Ministry official’s mother’s farmland found uncultivated amid survey row
In short
Three farmland parcels owned by the mother of Kim Jung-wook, director of the agriculture ministry’s Agricultural Innovation Policy Office, were found uncultivated in Wando County, South Jeolla Province, and the local government judged them subject to the Farmland Act, according to data Rep. Kang Seung-kyu of the People Power Party obtained from the county. Kim said his mother holds a grade 4 long-term care rating and that the fallow land cannot be concluded to be a legal violation. The case has been raised as an example of what critics call the national farmland survey’s failure to reflect rural reality.
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A local government has judged three farmland parcels owned by the mother of a senior agriculture ministry official to be uncultivated and subject to the Farmland Act, according to National Assembly data disclosed by an opposition lawmaker. Yonhap reported that Wando County confirmed all three parcels were not being farmed. [ 2 , 3 ]
The parcels in Dongbaek-ri, Geumil-eup, Wando County, belong to the mother of Kim Jung-wook, director of the Agricultural Innovation Policy Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. She acquired two by purchase in April 2021 and one by gift in May 2022, and submitted farming business plans at the time, county records cited by the lawmaker show. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the parcels measure 2,073, 922 and 731 square meters, with land values of 4,353,000 won, 2,821,000 won and 1,550,000 won. [ 1 , 2 ]
Kim said by phone that his mother holds a grade 4 long-term care rating, so the fallow status cannot be concluded to be a Farmland Act violation, and that he had raised the need for supplementary measures at a ministry meeting. [ 1 ]
Rep. Kang Seung-kyu of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Committee, released the data received from Wando County. He also cited Ha Man-sik, the new head of the Korea Coast Guard, who inherited three parcels in Jinsang-myeon, Gwangyang, in 2007 and told the Coast Guard he could not farm them because he found no one to work them and did not sign a lease trust contract with the Korea Rural Community Corporation’s Farmland Bank; family graves are on that land. [ 2 ]
Kang argued that the current Farmland Act and the full survey do not capture rural reality, saying that even a senior ministry official’s family must prove lawful fallowing, and that elderly farmers may fear forced disposal or enforcement fines. He called for re-examining the survey and lease regulations and for fundamental legal revision. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The case involves the ministry that runs the national farmland survey and the Farmland Act, and it is being used by an opposition lawmaker to argue the survey and lease rules should be re-examined. It also adds a second, similar case involving the new head of the Korea Coast Guard, widening the scrutiny beyond one official.
Key facts
- Kim Jung-wook, director of the agriculture ministry’s Agricultural Innovation Policy Office, has a mother who owns three farmland parcels in Dongbaek-ri, Geumil-eup, Wando County, South Jeolla Province. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The parcels were acquired in April 2021 (two by purchase) and May 2022 (one by gift), with farming business plans submitted at the time. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The parcels measure 2,073, 922 and 731 square meters, with land values of 4,353,000 won, 2,821,000 won and 1,550,000 won respectively, according to the public official ethics system. [ 1 ]
- Wando County records show all three parcels as fallow, and the local government judged them subject to a Farmland Act violation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kim said his mother holds a grade 4 long-term care rating, so the fallow status cannot be concluded to be a Farmland Act violation, and that he raised the need for supplementary measures at a ministry meeting. [ 1 ]
- Rep. Kang Seung-kyu of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Committee, also cited new Korea Coast Guard chief Ha Man-sik, who inherited three parcels in Gwangyang in 2007 and said he could not farm them. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kang called for re-examining the national farmland survey and lease regulations and for fundamental legal revision, saying the current system does not reflect rural reality. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Kim Jung-wook is the director of the agriculture ministry’s Agricultural Innovation Policy Office, and his mother owns three farmland parcels in Dongbaek-ri, Geumil-eup, Wando County. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The three parcels are recorded as uncultivated (fallow). [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The parcels were acquired in 2021 and 2022 by purchase and gift, and farming business plans were submitted at acquisition. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The data was submitted to Rep. Kang Seung-kyu of the People Power Party by Wando County. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the fallow status constitutes a Farmland Act violation Kim said his mother’s grade 4 long-term care rating means it cannot be concluded to be a violation, while Yonhap and Chosun Ilbo report the local government judged the land subject to a violation; the documents do not resolve the disagreement.
- Whether any enforcement action, disposal order or fine has been imposed The documents describe the county’s judgment but give no information on follow-up administrative steps.
- The agriculture ministry’s official position Only Kim’s personal comment by phone is reported; no ministry statement is cited.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kyunghyang Shinmun publishes the first report, detailing the parcels, their values and acquisition, and Kim’s response. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports that the local government judged the three parcels to be uncultivated and subject to the Farmland Act, and adds the Coast Guard chief case. [ 2 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the uncultivated farmland was found and that the county judged it subject to a Farmland Act violation. [ 3 ]
- Yonhap publishes a combined report on the case. [ 4 ]
- Newsis reports on the uncultivated farmland and the criticism of the farmland survey. [ 5 ]