Mountainous District Conversion Permit and Earth and Stone Extraction Permit Procedure — Permitting Authority by Area and Replacement Forest Resources Creation Cost

Procedure

1. 1. Check the district type and procedure

   Check whether the land is a reserved mountainous district (forestry or public-interest) or a semi-reserved mountainous district, and whether it falls within an area where conversion and temporary use are restricted. Decide whether the project purpose is a use subject to a conversion report, whether a conversion permit is required, and whether a separate earth and stone extraction permit is needed. Where a conversion permit is deemed granted through a permit under another law, the mountainous district documents are submitted together with that application.

2. 2. Identify the permitting authority

   For reserved mountainous districts, the mayor, county head or district head grants the permit for under 30,000㎡, the Mayor/Do Governor for 30,000㎡ or more and under 1,000,000㎡, and the Minister of the Korea Forest Service for 1,000,000㎡ or more. For other districts, the same division applies at 500,000㎡ and 2,000,000㎡, and mountainous land in national forests under the Korea Forest Service goes to the Minister of the Korea Forest Service regardless of area. Change permits and change reports go to the authority that granted the original permit.

3. 3. Prepare attachments and mark boundaries

   Prepare the business plan, a topographic map showing cadastral lines, the survey map of the planned conversion site surveyed by a surveying business, the forest survey report (where trees exist and the area is 660㎡ or more), the elevation and average slope survey reports, and the restoration plan. For an area of 660㎡ or more and under 5,000㎡, a disaster risk review opinion may be needed, and for 5,000㎡ or more, documents for disaster impact assessment consultation. Before applying, mark the boundary of the permit area at intervals of 30 meters or less with white paint or similar markings.

4. 4. Application, review and payment of the replacement forest resources creation cost

   Once the conversion permit application is filed, the permitting authority conducts a field survey and reviews whether it meets the conversion permit standards. The replacement forest resources creation cost is the converted area multiplied by the unit amount determined and announced each year by the Minister of the Korea Forest Service, and it is paid within a period of 20 to 90 days from the date the payment notice is issued. The permitting authority issues the permit certificate after confirming payment of the cost and deposit of the restoration cost.

5. 5. Earth and stone extraction permit and restoration

   For extraction, the earth and stone extraction permit application is filed with the business plan, extraction area survey map, area calculation map of the extraction volume, restoration plan, access road design and other documents, and the permitting authority conducts a field survey followed by review by the local mountainous district management committee (except for soil extraction under 50,000㎡ and similar cases). The extraction period is set within 10 years. After conversion or extraction ends, the restoration design is approved, the land is restored and a restoration completion inspection is carried out.

Required documents

• Application for mountainous district conversion permit (change permit) (Enforcement Rule of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Form 3)
• Mountainous district conversion report (same Enforcement Rule, Form 7, for uses subject to report)
• Application for earth and stone extraction permit (change permit) (same Enforcement Rule, Form 16, for extraction)
• Business plan (including purpose of conversion, project period, land use plan, earth and stone handling plan and damage prevention plan)
• Document proving ownership or right of use and profit of the mountainous land (where it cannot be confirmed through the land register certificate)
• Topographic map showing cadastral lines (scale of 1:25,000 or larger) and survey map of the planned conversion site surveyed by a surveying business
• Forest survey report (where trees exist and the converted area is 660㎡ or more)
• Elevation survey report and average slope survey report
• Restoration plan or restoration design, and disaster risk review opinion (for applicable areas)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by a representative)

Fees

Industry range of several hundred thousand won to around one million won · We provide a quote after consultation depending on the area and type of mountainous district, the permitting authority, whether an earth and stone extraction permit is also needed, and the scope of attachment preparation. Government fees, the replacement forest resources creation cost, the restoration cost, and survey and report preparation costs are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 4
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 14
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 15
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 19
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 25
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 38
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 39
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 40
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 42
• Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 53
• Enforcement Decree of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 15
• Enforcement Decree of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 23
• Enforcement Decree of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 24
• Enforcement Decree of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 32
• Enforcement Rule of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 10
• Enforcement Rule of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 13
• Enforcement Rule of the Mountainous Districts Management Act, Article 24

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-12

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

• Changing the form of mountainous land or using it for another purpose without a permit may be punished as unauthorized conversion, so obtain the permit certificate or report acceptance before starting work.
• The unit amount of the replacement forest resources creation cost is announced each year and the amount at the time of imposition applies, so recalculate with that year's announced amount when budgeting the project.

Frequently asked questions