Minister Song Miryung: "Farmland Survey Plagued by Misinformation and Repeated Misunderstandings"

Message Posted on Social Media

"Please Do Not Unsettle Our Agricultural Fields and Rural Communities"

Minister Song Reiterates Commitment to Farmland System Improvements

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Miryung stated on the 28th, regarding the controversy over the farmland survey, "There are far too many inaccuracies being spread, and this process of misunderstandings being reproduced is repeating itself."

Yonhap News

Minister Song made these remarks in a letter to farmers and the public posted to her X (formerly Twitter) account that day, entitled "A Message to Farmers and the Public Regarding the Comprehensive Farmland Survey," urging, "Please do not unsettle our agricultural fields and rural communities."

Her comments are seen as a response to Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon and People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk, who the previous day each criticized the comprehensive farmland survey and called for its suspension.

Addressing the concerns surrounding the comprehensive farmland survey, Minister Song emphasized that customary leases or fallow periods due to inheritance, migration from farming, or old age are not subject to disposal, and that the government will only take strict measures against speculative behavior such as acquiring farmland under false farming plans and then abandoning it or engaging in illegal leasing.

She reiterated the government's intention to cooperate with the National Assembly to enact a special law within this year before the survey is completed, and to improve the farmland system next year to better reflect current realities.

Minister Song further stated, "We will expand the reasons for permitting lease and fallow practices in line with rural environmental changes, and strengthen the protection of real cultivators' rights by supporting the preparation of lease contracts and other related matters."

She added, "For high-quality farmland, we will promote aggregation and scaling-up to enhance productivity, and for farmland left idle for various reasons, we will increase its utilization so that it either becomes more productive as farmland or is used for rural revitalization and alternative income generation. This serves as a foundation for stable food supply to the public and is also an opportunity to bring people back to rural areas."

Minister Song stated, "We will proactively purchase farmland that inheritance recipients or elderly farmers wish to sell, and facilitate generational transition by making it easier for full-time and young farmers to utilize such land, so that farmland pensions can help stabilize retirement income."

She added, "In the process of follow-up institutional improvements, we will fully take into account regional circumstances and the diverse situations of individuals, and we will pursue system enhancements that benefit not only agriculture and rural communities but also farmers and the public alike."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.