Responding to a Restoration Order for an Illegal Farm Hut — Statement of Explanation and Conversion to a Rural Stay Shelter after a 20㎡ or Residential-Use Finding

Procedure

1. 1. Check the survey notice and the request for materials

   The farmland survey is carried out at least once a year on farmland such as land for which a farmland acquisition qualification certificate was issued within a set period, land acquired by a person with no address in the city, county or district where the land is located or an adjacent one, land acquired in co-ownership, and land owned by agricultural corporations or foreigners. When a survey official requests materials or an opinion, the farmland owner or tenant must cooperate unless there is a special reason, and refusing or submitting false materials is subject to an administrative fine of up to 3,000,000 won. Before answering, first gather the temporary building report certificate, the farmland ledger and site photos to confirm the facts.

2. 2. Check which farm hut standards were breached

   A farm hut is a temporary warehouse for storing farm materials and machinery, simple processing of harvested produce, or short rests during farm work; it must not be used for residential purposes and its total floor area must be 20㎡ or less (if eaves or similar parts project 1m or more, the building area must also be 20㎡ or less). The temporary building report and farmland ledger registration must be completed, parking spaces and decks must stay within the area set by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs notice, and the building ordinance standards must also be met. The site of a facility outside these standards is not treated as a farm hut site, so it may be judged as farmland converted without permission, and in an agricultural promotion zone it becomes subject to a corrective order for breaching the activity restrictions.

3. 3. Submit a statement of explanation in response to the prior notice

   For a disposition that imposes an obligation, such as a restoration order, the administrative agency must give advance notice of the disposition, its legal basis and the deadline for submitting opinions, and the deadline must allow at least 10 days (Administrative Procedures Act, Article 21). The statement of explanation should set out the use and measured area of the facility, how it is actually used, evidence of farm work, and the correction plan with the expected completion date, together with photos. For items where the breach is clear, state the removal or downsizing method and the expected completion date and request the time needed to carry it out.

4. 4. Remove or downsize, or convert to a rural stay shelter

   To keep it as a farm hut, reduce the total floor area to 20㎡ or less and clear out the fixtures used for living so that it returns to temporary warehouse use. If overnight stays for farm work are needed, check that the rural stay shelter standards are met (total floor area of 33㎡ or less, 33㎡ or less combined with any farm hut on the same parcel, farmland adjoining a road where fire engines can operate, a parcel area at least 2 times the combined area of the shelter, parking space and deck, and residential fire safety equipment installed), file a temporary building report with the mayor, county governor or district head, and only then start work. A shelter cannot be placed on farmland in a disaster prevention district, a collapse-risk area or a natural disaster risk improvement district.

5. 5. Register in the farmland ledger and report completion of restoration

   An application to change the use information in the farmland ledger must be filed with the city, district, town or township within 60 days from the date the farm hut or shelter is installed, and failing to apply is subject to an administrative fine of up to 3,000,000 won. When the correction is finished, notify the department that issued the order, attaching before-and-after photos and the temporary building report certificate. If the order is not carried out within the period, an enforcement fine may be imposed every year; once it is carried out, new impositions stop, but amounts already imposed are still collected.

Required documents

• Temporary building construction report (Enforcement Rule of the Building Act, Form No. 8; when re-reporting a farm hut or converting to a shelter)
• Application for change of use information in the farmland ledger (Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Form No. 58-2)
• Statement of explanation and opinion submission (prepared according to the opinion submission guidance in the prior notice)
• Layout plan and floor plan of the temporary building (attached to the construction report)
• Letter of consent for land use (if the farmland is owned by another person)
• Existing temporary building report certificate and temporary building management ledger
• Measured dimensions of the facility and front, back and side photos of the site (before and after correction)
• Materials showing farm work (agricultural business entity registration confirmation, farming records and photos, etc.)
• Letter of authorization (when an administrative agent submits on your behalf)

Fees

Industry range of several hundred thousand won · We provide a quote after consultation based on the number of breached items, the length of the statement of explanation, and whether a shelter conversion report is needed. Drawing preparation and removal or installation work are charged separately.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Farmland Act, Article 2
• Farmland Act, Article 32
• Farmland Act, Article 34
• Farmland Act, Article 42
• Farmland Act, Article 42-2
• Farmland Act, Article 49-2
• Farmland Act, Article 54
• Farmland Act, Article 63
• Farmland Act, Article 64
• Enforcement Decree of the Farmland Act, Article 2
• Enforcement Decree of the Farmland Act, Article 59-3
• Enforcement Decree of the Farmland Act, Article 75
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Article 3-2
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Article 3-4
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Article 63
• Enforcement Rule of the Farmland Act, Form No. 58-2
• Building Act, Article 20
• Building Act, Article 111
• Enforcement Decree of the Building Act, Article 15
• Enforcement Rule of the Building Act, Article 13
• Enforcement Rule of the Building Act, Form No. 8
• Administrative Procedures Act, Article 21
• Administrative Appeals Act, Article 27

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-15

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

• Writing anything untrue in the statement of explanation or survey materials is subject to an administrative fine and also works against you in later correction discussions, so state the measured area and actual use as they are.
• Separately from correction under the Farmland Act, a temporary building installed or enlarged without a construction report is subject to a fine of up to 50,000,000 won under the Building Act, so deal with decks and extensions at the same time.

Frequently asked questions