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Roads, rivers & public waters

Building Access to Landlocked Land with a Ditch Occupancy Permit — Where to Apply, Usage Fees, Permit Periods and Documents

If the route from landlocked land to a road must cross a ditch (a drain or channel), the type of permit and where to apply depend on who owns the ditch and which law governs it. For ditches that are agricultural production infrastructure, such as irrigation and drainage channels, under Article 23 of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act a use application is submitted to the Korea Rural Community Corporation when it manages the facility, and a use permit from the mayor, county head or district head is obtained when another manager such as a city or county manages it. Both use Annexed Form No. 17 of the Enforcement Rule, and the processing period is 30 days (excluding site inspection and supplementation periods). For state-owned ditches that are not agricultural production infrastructure, an occupancy and use permit under Article 8 of the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act is applied for at the city, county or district, and within river or small river areas an occupancy permit under the River Act or the Small River Maintenance Act is obtained. Ditches owned by local governments are subject to use permits for administrative property under the Public Property and Commodity Management Act. The use period of agricultural production infrastructure for access roads is up to 10 years (Article 31(5) of the Enforcement Decree).

Written by Hwang Yunsang, Administrative Agent · Published 2026-10-13 · Updated 2026-10-13

Procedure

  1. 1. Confirm the ditch owner and the governing law

    Check the land register and the certificate of registered matters to see whether the ditch owner is the state, a local government, the Korea Rural Community Corporation or a private person, and look up whether it is registered as an irrigation or drainage channel in the city or county register of agricultural production infrastructure. Also check the land use plan confirmation for river or small river areas. If the ditch is privately owned, you need the owner's consent to use the land rather than a permit.

  2. 2. Prepare the access road structure and drawings

    Decide how the ditch will be crossed (bridge, buried culvert pipe, covering and so on) and its width, length and area, and prepare a location map, cadastral map, plan and cross-section drawings. A use permit is granted only within a range that does not interfere with the original purpose or use (Article 23(2) of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act), so the design must keep the water flow section and maintenance access. If the access road meets public road land, a road occupancy permit or connection permit should also be reviewed.

  3. 3. Submit the application suited to the managing body

    For agricultural production infrastructure, fill in the purpose, method, period and area of use on Annexed Form No. 17 and submit it to the Korea Rural Community Corporation branch or the responsible city, county or district department. The manager posts the use details on its bulletin board and website for public inspection by relevant residents for at least 14 days, and residents may submit opinions during that period (Article 31-2 of the Enforcement Decree). For state-owned ditches, apply to the city, county or district with Annexed Form No. 4 under the Public Waters Act and attach consents if right holders such as adjacent landowners exist.

  4. 4. Receive the permit and pay usage fees

    For use of agricultural production infrastructure, the usage fee for facilities managed by the state is 5/100 of the officially assessed land price, and facilities managed by the Korea Rural Community Corporation or local governments set fees by articles of incorporation or ordinances in line with this standard (Article 32 of the Enforcement Decree). A public waters occupancy permit has a processing period of 7 days where an implementation plan report is required and 14 days where approval is required, and occupancy fees are paid annually according to the city, county or district ordinance.

  5. 5. Construction, completion and renewal

    With a public waters occupancy permit, report the implementation plan (within six months of the permit) or obtain its approval before construction, and complete a completion report or completion inspection after the works. The use period is up to 10 years for access roads on agricultural production infrastructure, 30 years for bridges and other solid artificial structures in public waters, and 15 years for other artificial structures, so apply for renewal or a period change permit before expiry.

Required documents

  • Application for use permit or use of agricultural production infrastructure or water (Annexed Form No. 17 of the Enforcement Rule of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act, for ditches that are agricultural production infrastructure)
  • Application for public waters occupancy and use permit (Annexed Form No. 4 of the Enforcement Rule of the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act, for state-owned ditches that are not agricultural production infrastructure)
  • Business plan (purpose, method, period and area of use for the access road)
  • Location map and certified copy of the cadastral map marking the application area
  • Plan and cross-section drawings and area calculation drawings of the ditch crossing structure
  • Consent of right holders related to public waters occupancy and use (where right holders such as adjacent landowners exist)
  • Materials showing the lot number and use plan of the land to be connected (building or development activity plans and similar)

Fees

Industry range of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of won · We provide a quote after consultation, depending on the managing body and governing law of the ditch, the access road structure and scope of drawings, and whether other permits such as private road opening or road occupancy are handled together. Usage and occupancy fees are charged separately by the managing body.

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Legal basis and review date

  • Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Article 2 Item 6
  • Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Article 23
  • Enforcement Decree of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Article 31
  • Enforcement Decree of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Article 31-2
  • Enforcement Decree of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Article 32
  • Enforcement Rule of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Article 14
  • Enforcement Rule of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act Annexed Form No. 17
  • Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act Articles 2, 3, 8, 11, 15, 17 and 62
  • Enforcement Rule of the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act Annexed Form No. 4
  • State Property Act Articles 4, 30, 35 and 40
  • Enforcement Decree of the State Property Act Article 29
  • Public Property and Commodity Management Act Articles 20 and 21
  • River Act Article 33
  • Small River Maintenance Act Article 14

Checked against the statutes on

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

  • Filling in a ditch or burying pipes before a permit is granted, where the ditch is state-owned public waters, is punishable under Article 62 of the Public Waters Act by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30,000,000 won, and is subject to an indemnity charge of 120/100 of the occupancy fee and restoration.
  • Where the area of agricultural production infrastructure used is 300 square meters or less, or only the period is renewed under the same conditions, the manager may allow use without a permit from the mayor, county head or district head (Article 31(3) of the Enforcement Decree), but the applicant must still apply to the manager for use.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I apply for a ditch occupancy permit?
It depends on the managing body of the ditch. For ditches that are agricultural production infrastructure, apply to the Korea Rural Community Corporation branch when it manages the facility, and when a city or county manages it, obtain a use permit under Article 23 of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act from the mayor, county head or district head through the responsible department. For state-owned ditches that are not agricultural production infrastructure, apply to the city, county or district for a public waters occupancy and use permit, and within a river area apply to the river management authority for a river occupancy permit.
Are approval for use for other purposes and the use permit for agricultural production infrastructure the same procedure?
The terms are used for the same procedure. The current title of Article 23 of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act is use permit for agricultural production infrastructure, and the form is a single Annexed Form No. 17 covering the use permit application submitted to the city, county or district and the use application submitted to the Korea Rural Community Corporation. In both cases the permit is for using the facility for purposes other than its original purpose.
How much is the usage fee for using a Korea Rural Community Corporation ditch as an access road?
For facilities managed by the state, the annual fee is 5/100 of the officially assessed land price (Article 32(1)3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act). Facilities managed by the Korea Rural Community Corporation and local governments set fees by articles of incorporation or ordinances in line with this range, and where the user is chosen by competitive bidding the winning bid may apply. If the fee for a year rises by 5/100 or more over the previous year, the increase is calculated using the adjustment formula of the State Property Act.
Isn't a use permit under the State Property Act enough?
For state-owned ditches with flowing water, the Public Waters Act or Rural Community Development and Improvement Act procedures apply first. Article 4 of the State Property Act provides that special provisions in other laws prevail, so use permits for administrative property under the State Property Act (permit period up to 5 years, fee of at least 50/1,000 of the property value) apply to state administrative property not covered by those laws. For state-owned ditch land that no longer functions as a channel, request abolition of its administrative use from the managing agency and then consider a lease or purchase.
Will the ditch use permit be refused if nearby farmers object?
Relevant residents' opinions are reflected in the decision. Article 23(2) of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act allows a use permit only within a range that does not interfere with the original purpose or use and requires the manager to hear relevant residents in advance. It is important to show with drawings and the structural plan that water flow and water supply are not affected.
Does an administrative agent handle ditch occupancy permit applications?
Yes. Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office confirms the owner, managing body and governing law of the ditch, prepares the Annexed Form No. 17 or Annexed Form No. 4 application and business plan, drafts right holder consent forms, handles submission to the managing body and supplementation responses, and, where needed, also prepares private road opening permit and road occupancy permit applications. Drawings and survey results are attached as prepared by the relevant engineers.

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Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office in Songdo, Incheon prepares and submits administrative documents and explains the procedure. If your situation is similar, send us a message.

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This guide is general information based on public sources. Requirements, documents and deadlines differ by case and by the competent agency, so please confirm them before you proceed.