Farmland Preservation Charge Refund Procedure and Refund Interest — When a Permit Is Revoked or a Business Plan Changes

Procedure

1. 1. Check whether a refund ground applies

   Article 38(5) of the Farmland Act lists as refund grounds revocation of the permit under Article 39, a change of the business plan, failure to obtain a permit after paying the charge, and other equivalent grounds that reduce the converted area below the original. Revocation upon the permit holder's own request also falls under Article 39(1)6. Where a farmland conversion permit was deemed granted under another act, such as a building permit, and that project is cancelled, the competent authority's judgment is required, so check the permit and cancellation documents together.

2. 2. Check payment records and whether the authority sent notice

   Locate the payment notice, receipt and original levy decision notice number, and check whether the levying mayor, county head, district head or provincial governor has determined and notified the refund. For older cases, one option is to confirm through an information disclosure request whether the authority made a refund decision and notified the Korea Rural Community Corporation. Where restoration was ordered, notice is given only after restoration is confirmed, so also check whether restoration has been completed.

3. 3. Submit a refund decision request to the competent authority

   If a refund ground has arisen but no decision notice was received, submit a civil petition to the authority stating the refund ground, the legal basis and the payment record. The authority determines the refund under Article 51(1) of the Enforcement Decree and sends the decision notice of Form 48 to the payer and the Korea Rural Community Corporation. For partial refunds due to a business plan change, compare the area before and after the change and the revised levy amount.

4. 4. Verify the refund interest calculation

   Refund interest is calculated for the period from the day after the starting date to the refund decision date at the national tax refund interest rate under Article 43-3(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on National Taxes. The starting date differs by ground: the payment date for mistaken or double payment, the revocation date when the permit is revoked for reasons attributable to the payer, the payment date when no permit is granted after payment, and the change permit date for a business plan change. Check that the refund interest breakdown in the decision notice uses the correct starting date for the ground.

5. 5. Claim the refund from the Korea Rural Community Corporation

   Submit the refund and refund interest claim of Form 49 with the decision notice to the Korea Rural Community Corporation and enter the remittance account. The corporation pays the refund without delay and sends the payment completion notice of Form 50 to the authority. The resident registration abstract or corporate registration certificate is checked by staff through shared administrative information.

Required documents

• Claim for farmland preservation charge refund and refund interest (Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Form 49, submitted to the Korea Rural Community Corporation)
• Decision notice of farmland preservation charge refund and refund interest (Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Form 48, issued by the competent authority)
• Refund decision request petition (submitted to the competent authority if no decision notice was received; no statutory form)
• Farmland preservation charge payment notice and payment receipt
• Farmland conversion permit or report acceptance document, and permit revocation or business plan change permit documents
• Materials such as drawings showing the converted area before and after the change (for partial refunds)
• Copy of the remittance account
• Resident registration abstract or corporate registration certificate (if not consenting to shared administrative information)

Fees

Typically from tens of thousands of won to several hundred thousand won in the industry · We will advise after consultation, depending on whether a decision notice has already been issued, whether refund grounds need to be confirmed and an information disclosure request is needed, and whether a partial refund requires comparing areas and amounts.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Farmland Act Article 38
• Farmland Act Article 39
• Farmland Act Article 42
• Enforcement Decree of the Farmland Act Article 51
• Enforcement Decree of the Farmland Act Article 71
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act Article 46
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act Form 48
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act Form 49

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-13

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

• Although the authority must decide the refund without delay, notices are sometimes omitted, so if no decision notice arrives after a permit revocation or business plan change, check with the authority first.
• The form states that the refund reverts to the Farmland Management Fund 5 years after receipt of the decision notice, so keep a record of the date the notice was received.

Frequently asked questions