President Yoon emphasized that the order for farmland sales is a legal measure to combat speculative land transactions, dismissing critics who likened it to communist policies.
President Yoon Sook-yeol of South Korea has defended his administration’s directive to order the sale of farmland, clarifying that the measure is intended to prevent speculative transactions in agricultural land. During a recent cabinet meeting, he specified that the government is not targeting inherited farmland or land that is intentionally left unused due to the owner's age or other circumstances. Instead, he indicated that the focus is on instances where individuals acquire farmland under the guise of farming plans but fail to utilize the land for agricultural purposes thereafter.
Yoon reiterated the constitutional principle of 'land for those who farm it', which he argued aligns with the land law stipulating that only those who intend to farm can acquire agricultural land. He emphasized that those who misrepresent their intentions by acquiring land claiming they will farm must comply with legal orders for sale if they fail to meet the farming commitment. Yoon’s comments were specifically addressed to those who have mischaracterized his order as a communist action, contrasting it with the historical agricultural policies of former president Lee Seung-man, who also implemented land distribution based on farming principles.
In a broader context, Yoon stated that Lee Seung-man’s policies were foundational for South Korea’s economic development, highlighting the contradiction in labeling the current government's actions as communist while ignoring the historical significance of similar policies in South Korea’s past. This clash reflects ongoing political tensions in South Korea regarding land ownership and agricultural policy, illustrating the government's complex balance between promoting agricultural productivity and addressing market speculation.
