Government Announces Legislative Notice for Farmland Act Amendment
Illegal Farm Sheds if Rest Area Exceeds 25%
Farmland Owners and Weekend Farmers Call It "Desk Administration"
Recently, as the government announced a legislative proposal to amend the 'Enforcement Rules of the Farmland Act' to prevent illegal activities such as unauthorized extensions of nongmak (farm sheds), voices of dissatisfaction have erupted among farmland owners and weekend farm enthusiasts.
According to the National Participation Legislation Center website, approximately 1,700 legislative opinions have been registered from the announcement of the partial amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Farmland Act on the 12th of last month until the 8th of this month.
The amendment aims to clearly organize regulations related to nongmak under the Farmland Act to ensure that nongmak are used in accordance with the legislative intent, while also improving and supplementing the limitations of local governments' post-management of nongmak.
Nongmak are originally facilities installed on farmland (with a total floor area of 20㎡ or less) to store farming tools or crops or to take short breaks during farming activities. However, recently, cases of nongmak being used for speculation or as residential facilities such as villas have been detected, leading to strengthened regulations on nongmak to prevent such misuse.
According to the amendment, ▲ if a move-in report is filed for a nongmak ▲ if activities beyond 'temporary rest' during farming, such as overnight sleeping, lodging, or leisure facility use without farming work, are conducted ▲ if the internal resting space exceeds 25% of the floor area, the facility will be considered 'residential.' Additionally, when installing a nongmak, it must be reported as a temporary structure under the Building Act that can be restored to farmland.
However, this has been criticized as a typical case of armchair policymaking. Netizens responded negatively, saying things like, "When you go to the countryside for a weekend farm, you inevitably have to stay overnight once or twice," "If you regulate nongmak too much, city people will have even less reason to go to the countryside," "Is it right to regulate while saying we want to revitalize the countryside?" and "While it is necessary to crack down on luxurious decorations that go against the purpose of nongmak, excessive regulation has taken the wrong direction."
On the other hand, there are opinions agreeing with the purpose of the amendment. One netizen pointed out, "The problem is people who do not actually farm but build nongmak under the pretense of farming and live a rural life." Another netizen said, "If nongmak are used like houses, aren't they unauthorized homes or villas? Regulations should be enforced."
Meanwhile, separate from the preparation of the amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Farmland Act, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs conducted joint inspections with local governments mainly in areas where many nongmak have been installed in March. As a result, it was confirmed that 51% of the 252 nongmak inspected were illegally extended for residential use or illegally used as gardens, parking lots, etc.
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