“Committee review required to renew leases or use permits for national forest land used for more than 30 years”

[Financial News] Going forward, if the period for which national forest land is leased or permitted for use exceeds 30 years, renewal of the term will require review by the National Forest Committee. The measure is intended to prevent specific individuals or groups from monopolizing national forest land for long periods while paying low rents.
The Korea Forest Service said on the 27th that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Management and Administration of National Forests, aimed at rationalizing the system for leasing national forest land and granting permission to use it, would be promulgated and take effect.
The KFS explained that the amendment aims to address shortcomings in the current system and eliminate unreasonable factors that concentrate the benefits of national forest land among a select few.
Under the amendment, if the total period of a lease or permission to use national forest land exceeds 30 years, renewal will require review by the National Forest Committee. The plan is to strengthen the management system so that decisions on whether to renew long-term use of national forest land are reviewed and made from the perspectives of internal and external experts, ensuring objectivity and transparency in the decision-making process.
The National Forest Committee is a body that may be established for each Regional Forest Service under the National Forests Act to deliberate on matters concerning the management and administration of national forest land. It handles matters concerning the disposal or leasing of national forest land, as prescribed by presidential decree. With this amendment, decisions on renewing long-term use of national forest land will newly be subject to review by the committee.
The way rent is charged will also change. Until now, rent for national forest land has been charged annually, with increases adjusted so they did not exceed 9% from the previous year. Going forward, there will be no cap on the adjustment rate in the first year of a renewed term, allowing rents to be brought in line with changes in land value. However, to ease the financial burden on forestry workers and others, the existing rules will continue to apply to income-generating activities in forestry, agriculture and fisheries, as well as residential use.
As of 2018, there were 9,475 leased or permitted-use sites on national forest land managed by the KFS, covering 42,658 hectares. The KFS has inspected the condition of leased sites through annual surveys, and may cancel leases and require the return of national forest land if rent is not paid by the due date or the project for which the land was leased is not making progress, among other cases.
Jang Yeong-sin, director of the KFS National Forest Management Division, said, “This amendment prevents national forest land, a national asset, from being monopolized by a select few and rationalizes the way usage fees are charged.” He added, “We will continue to build a system for using and managing national forest land that all citizens can agree on.”
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter