Objecting to Compensation Appraisal of Illegally Altered Land — Minor Alteration Standards and the 30-Day Objection to an Expropriation Ruling

Procedure

1. 1. Check the grounds for classification as illegally altered land

   Check the compensation plan notice, the land record entry on current use, and the appraisal result notice to see on what basis the land was classified as illegally altered land. Illegally altered land means land whose form was changed without a permit or report required by the relevant laws, and it is appraised by assuming the use at the time of the alteration (Enforcement Rule of the Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Article 24).

2. 2. Establish when the alteration occurred and whether a permit was required

   Collect past aerial photographs, the history of land category changes in the land register, and records of permits such as development activity permits and farmland conversion, and organize by period what alteration took place and when. Cutting, filling or leveling within 50cm in height or depth (calculated cumulatively if done several times, excluding paving) and cutting, filling, leveling or paving without a change of land category on land of 660㎡ or less outside urban areas, natural environment conservation areas and district unit planning zones are minor acts that do not require a permit, and where a city or county planning ordinance sets separate standards within this range, the ordinance applies (Enforcement Decree of the National Land Planning and Utilization Act, Article 53, Subparagraph 3). Because the laws and ordinances at the time of the alteration may differ from current ones, check against the standards in force at that time.

3. 3. Submit a written objection and opinion within the inspection period

   The project operator makes the compensation plan available for inspection for at least 14 days after announcement or notice, and an owner who disagrees with the use stated in the land record may file a written objection with the project operator within this inspection period (Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Article 15(2) and (3)). Submit the objection and an opinion letter with evidence that no permit was required at the time of the alteration or that a permit was lawfully obtained, and use the same evidence during consultation to request an explanation of the appraisal grounds.

4. 4. Request adjudication if no agreement is reached

   If no agreement is reached after the public notice of project approval, the landowner may submit a written request for adjudication to the project operator after the consultation period ends (Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Article 30(1); Enforcement Decree of the same Act, Article 14(1)). The project operator must apply for adjudication to the competent land expropriation committee within 60 days of receiving the request, and if it misses this deadline, an additional amount for the delayed period is added to the adjudicated compensation (same Act, Article 30(2) and (3)).

5. 5. Object to the expropriation ruling

   If you disagree with the appraisal in the expropriation ruling, file an objection with the Central Land Expropriation Committee within 30 days of receiving the original copy of the ruling, attaching a copy of the original ruling to the objection form (Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Article 83; Enforcement Decree of the same Act, Article 45(1)). For a ruling by a local land expropriation committee, the objection is submitted through that local committee, and the reasons should be organized around evidence showing when the alteration occurred and whether a permit was required at that time.

Required documents

• Objection form (Enforcement Rule of the Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Annex Form No. 21, when objecting to an expropriation ruling)
• Request for adjudication (no annex form; prepared according to the items listed in Article 14(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act)
• Objection to the land record and opinion letter during consultation (no prescribed form; submitted in writing)
• Compensation plan notice, land record, consultation request, and appraisal result notice
• Original copy of the expropriation ruling and postal delivery records showing the date of receipt
• Land register (including history of land category changes), land registration certificate, and cadastral map
• Aerial photographs by year and current site photographs
• Records of permits such as development activity permits and farmland conversion, and work records from the time of the alteration (if any)

Fees

There is no fee for the objection form for an expropriation ruling (Annex Form No. 21). Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the number of parcels included, the volume of land history records, and the stage of the procedure (objection to the land record, request for adjudication, or objection to the ruling); we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Articles 15, 30 and 83
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Articles 14 and 45
• Enforcement Rule of the Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Article 24 and Annex Form No. 21
• National Land Planning and Utilization Act, Article 56
• Enforcement Decree of the National Land Planning and Utilization Act, Article 53

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-28

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

• An objection to an expropriation ruling cannot be filed more than 30 days after receiving the original copy of the ruling, so confirm the date of receipt with postal delivery records (Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land for Public Works Projects, Article 83(3)).
• Whether an alteration was minor enough not to require a permit is judged by the laws and city or county ordinances in force at the time of the alteration, so for alterations made long ago, check the standards at that time and any transitional provisions with the project operator and the competent city or county.

Frequently asked questions