S. Korea farm minister: no constitution change needed, farmland law to be revised
In short
Agriculture minister Song Mi-ryeong said the constitutional principle that farmers should own farmland remains valid, but that the constitution does not need to be amended and the Farmland Act should instead be revised to fit the times. She rejected as “fake news” the framing that the state is taking farmland after a nationwide survey found about 27% of land acquired since 1996 suspected of illegal leasing or unmanaged fallow. The ruling party is to propose a special measures act early next month, to be enacted within the year, giving farmers time to normalize.
Why it matters
The planned Farmland Act revision, targeted for the first half of next year, and the special measures act due within the year will decide how strictly ownership, leasing and fallow-land rules are enforced on farms where the survey flagged suspected violations. The minister's refusal to pursue a constitutional amendment keeps the debate at the level of ordinary legislation rather than a change to the constitution's property provisions. The documents do not give the content of the special measures act or any figures on how many flagged cases will ultimately be treated as violations.
Key facts
- Agriculture minister Song Mi-ryeong said the principle that those who farm should own farmland is still valid, but that the constitution does not need to be amended and the Farmland Act should be revised to match the times. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Song said the government aims to revise the Farmland Act within the first half of next year. [ 1 ]
- The ministry's basic farmland survey, announced in late July, identified about 27% of farmland acquired since 1996 as suspected violations such as illegal leasing or unmanaged fallow. [ 1 ]
- A revised Farmland Act tightening disposal orders for land that is not farmed took effect in late August. [ 1 ]
- On Sept. 21 the ruling party and the government announced supplementary measures saying customary violations in rural areas would not be uniformly penalized and that a special measures act would allow time to normalize. [ 1 ]
- The special measures act is to be proposed by the Democratic Party early next month and enacted within the year. [ 1 ]
- Song called the framing that the state is taking land “fake news” and “hearsay,” saying only the share of suspected violations and enforcement-fine rules had been highlighted. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Agriculture minister Song Mi-ryeong said the principle that farmers should own farmland remains valid while the Farmland Act should be revised to fit the times. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Song rejected as “fake news” the framing that the state is taking farmland. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Song said there is no need to amend the constitution, calling it a matter of changing the Farmland Act to fit the present. [ 1 ]
- The government plans to revise the Farmland Act within the first half of next year. [ 1 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the farmland survey results support a constitutional amendment. Only the minister's position that there is no need for a constitutional amendment is reported; the documents do not give the response of those who made the amendment argument after the survey.
- What the special measures act will contain. The documents say only that the Democratic Party will propose it early next month and that it is to be enacted within the year; no provisions are given, and the account rests on a single source.
- How many of the approximately 27% of suspected violation cases will be treated as speculation rather than customary practice. Song gave only a projection that violations would fall considerably once speculation is filtered out; no figures are provided.