"Thank You, Ancestors"... Found Owners of Hidden Land Worth 1.9 Trillion Won

3,197 People Discover 7,543 Hidden Parcels of Land
High-Quality Cadastral Information Provided Free of Charge, Receiving Positive Reviews

Seocho-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced on the 12th that through the ‘Finding Ancestral Land’ service, which helps locate land registered under deceased ancestors' names, it found hidden land worth approximately 1.94 trillion KRW over the past year.

Seocho District Office building. Provided by Seocho District Office.

The ‘Finding Ancestral Land’ service is a system implemented to assist heirs in exercising property rights by providing information on land locations when descendants are unaware of their ancestors' land ownership status.

According to Seocho-gu, last year, 9,831 applicants requested searches for 12,106 parcels of land (11,073,295.8㎡). Among them, 3,197 people discovered 7,543 parcels (8,314,075㎡) of hidden ancestral land. Applying the national standard land price of 232,146 KRW/㎡, this amounts to approximately 1.94 trillion KRW.

Seocho-gu stated that although various related institutions such as courts are concentrated in the area, resulting in the highest number of related civil complaints nationwide, they provide accurate cadastral electronic data quickly and securely.

In particular, the service has received favorable reviews for offering high-quality cadastral information free of charge, enabling residents to reliably verify the exact ownership (registered copy of the land register) and location of ancestral land without multiple visits to related institutions. This has significantly improved convenience for residents by reducing the cost of issuing necessary civil documents for inheritance property verification and shortening the time spent visiting sites.

The ‘Finding Ancestral Land’ service allows inquiries nationwide regardless of the land’s location. Applications can be made either by visiting the Real Estate Information Division in person or online. However, for deceased persons before 2008, only in-person applications are accepted.

For in-person applications, applicants must prepare their ID card and documents proving heirship such as the ancestor’s family register removal certificate, basic certificate, and family relationship certificate, and visit the Real Estate Information Division of Seocho-gu Office. For online applications, the search is limited to land owned by parents, spouses, or children who died after January 1, 2008. Applicants must electronically attach the deceased’s basic certificate and family relationship certificate and apply through the Government24 website or the K-Geo platform.

District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, “There are frequent cases where land ownership is left unsettled after the owner’s death,” and added, “We hope residents actively utilize the Finding Ancestral Land service to protect their property rights.”