Gangnam District's "Finding Ancestors' Land" Service Helps Residents Reclaim 5.1 Trillion Won Worth of Land

22,776 Applications Filed Over Three Years
Supporting the Restoration of Property Rights

Gangnam District in Seoul announced on June 18 that it helped residents reclaim land worth approximately 5.12 trillion won last year through the "Finding Ancestors' Land" service, which allows individuals to check the land ownership status under their ancestors' names.

Over the past year, Gangnam District provided information on a total of 14,031 land parcels, covering about 22 million square meters. Based on the national standard land price (232,146 won per square meter), this amounts to a value of approximately 5.12 trillion won.

The "Finding Ancestors' Land" service is a system that allows individuals to verify land ownership with only the deceased ancestor's name and resident registration number. Gangnam District has a high demand for this service due to frequent changes in lot numbers and discrepancies in cadastral information, especially following large-scale land readjustment projects in the Yeongdong and Gaepo areas during the 1970s and 1980s.

Over the past three years, Gangnam District has provided land ownership information as follows: ▲ 11,812 cases/13,787 parcels (about 16 million square meters) in 2023, ▲ 8,266 cases/14,031 parcels (about 22 million square meters) in 2024, and ▲ as of June 9, 2025, 2,698 cases/4,609 parcels (about 5.13 million square meters). By type, the service provided information on 174 parcels through the Finding Ancestors' Land service, 3,766 parcels through Safe Inheritance, and 669 parcels for self-ownership verification.

Additionally, from 2023 to the present, there have been 2,148 requests from administrative and judicial agencies for land ownership information, covering 1,428,000 parcels. This highlights the important role Gangnam District's data plays in land-related disputes and administrative processes.

This service is available at cadastral departments of city, county, and district offices nationwide, regardless of the land's location, and can also be accessed online at kgeop.go.kr. However, for ancestors who passed away before 2008, applications must be made in person.

Gangnam District Mayor Cho Sungmyung stated, "The Finding Ancestors' Land service is a useful system that helps residents uncover hidden assets and restore their rights," adding, "We will continue to enhance resident convenience through various administrative services going forward."