If Undeclared Land Donated Is Occupied for Over 20 Years, It Is Considered "De Facto Ownership"

"Unfair Seizure of Land Donated 21 Years Ago Due to Inheritance Tax Arrears"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#Mr. A donated land within a Hansen’s disease settlement to Hansen’s disease patients in 1985. The Hansen’s disease patients lived on the land for over 20 years, believing they owned it, as they built structures without registration. When Mr. A passed away in 2006, inheritance was passed to his descendants, but in 2015, the local National Tax Service director seized the land donated by Mr. A due to the heirs’ unpaid inheritance tax.

This became an opportunity for the Hansen’s disease patients to realize they had not secured legal ownership of the land. Although the Hansen’s disease patients completed the land ownership transfer registration through a civil lawsuit with the heirs following a court ruling in February 2019, the local National Tax Service did not lift the land seizure.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 20th that when land has been donated and occupied without registration for over 20 years, it should be regarded as having effectively secured ownership. It is equivalent to completing acquisition by prescription. Accordingly, the Commission decided that the local National Tax Service director’s land seizure was unjust.

The Commission stated, “It is too harsh to seize land and impose excessive additional taxes on elderly Hansen’s disease patients who have lived without significant income, due to the heirs’ unpaid inheritance tax, which is not their fault. The Commission expressed the opinion that including the land in the inheritance property after the donor’s death and seizing it due to the heirs’ unpaid inheritance tax may violate the principle of substantive taxation, and requested the local National Tax Service director to lift the seizure.”

Lim Jin-hong, the Commission’s Grievance Deliberation Officer, said, “While conducting a nationwide survey of Hansen’s disease settlement villages to understand their issues, we are preparing comprehensive improvement measures with related ministries. We will do our best to resolve the various difficulties faced by socially marginalized Hansen’s disease patients.”