[2020 National Audit] Unauthorized Occupation of Land Managed by KAMCO and Public Land on the Rise... 90 Billion KRW in Compensation Fees Uncollected

Over 45% Occupied for More Than 1 Year, Approximately 14,000 Cases Occupied for Over 3 Years
89.5 Billion KRW in Compensation Fees Uncollected

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Amid ongoing unauthorized occupation of national and public lands, it has been revealed that compensation fees amounting to approximately 90 billion KRW have yet to be recovered.

According to data submitted by the Korea Asset Management Corporation (hereinafter referred to as KAMCO) to Song Jae-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of unauthorized occupations of national property and public property under KAMCO’s management reached 150,816 cases over the five years from 2016 to July of this year.

The unauthorized occupation of national and public lands has generally shown an increasing trend each year. The cases slightly decreased from 27,378 in 2016 to 22,805 in 2017, but then continued to rise to 37,697 in 2018 and 39,913 last year. This year, up to July, there were 23,023 cases, indicating that unauthorized occupation practices are hardly ceasing.

National lands are entrusted to KAMCO for management under the current National Property Act. Public lands refer to those of Busan City, which KAMCO manages under consignment. Unauthorized occupation refers to the use of national property without permission or lease contracts while seeking profit. Among these cases, some involve unauthorized use without renewal applications even after lease contract periods have expired.

Most unauthorized occupations occurred on national lands. Of the 150,816 cases, 144,913 (96%) were on national lands, while public lands accounted for 5,903 cases.

Under the National Property Act, KAMCO imposes compensation fees equivalent to 120% of the usage or lease fees on unauthorized occupants using national property without permission or lease contracts. Accordingly, over the past five years, KAMCO has imposed compensation fees totaling 289.5 billion KRW on unauthorized occupants of national and public lands.

However, 89.5 billion KRW of this amount remains unrecovered. KAMCO states that although it collects payments or enforces recovery through asset seizure of unauthorized occupants, the recovery process has not been smooth, resulting in this situation.

Assemblyman Song Jae-ho emphasized, “National and public lands belong to all citizens, not to specific individuals or groups, and it is serious that unauthorized occupation is not decreasing but rather generally increasing.” He added, “KAMCO must take the lead in eradicating unauthorized occupation of national and public lands by devising strong compensation fee collection measures and establishing necessary systems.”