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Roads, rivers & public waters

River and Small River Occupancy Permits — Competent Authority, Processing Times, Forms and Administrative Appeals Against Refusals

To occupy land, install structures, or excavate or fill land within a river zone, you need a river occupancy permit from the river management authority under Article 33 of the River Act; for small rivers designated by a mayor, county head or district head, you need a permit from that authority under Article 14 of the Small River Maintenance Act. Depending on the purpose, national rivers are handled by a river basin or regional environmental office or by the metropolitan/provincial government, and local rivers by the metropolitan/provincial government, with processing times such as 10 days for land occupancy and 20 days for new structures. If a permit is refused, an administrative appeal can be filed within 90 days of learning of the decision.

Written by Hwang Yunsang, Administrative Agent · Published 2026-10-14 · Updated 2026-10-14

Procedure

  1. 1. Identify the river type and the competent authority

    First check, using the river zone notice and cadastral map, whether the site lies within the river zone of a national or local river or within a small river zone designated by a city, county or district. For national rivers, land occupancy and extraction of earth, sand and gravel are handled by the metropolitan/provincial governor, while occupancy of river facilities and permits for new structures or land alteration are handled by the head of the river basin or regional environmental office; local rivers are handled by the metropolitan/provincial governor. For a small river, the authority is the mayor, county head or district head who designated it.

  2. 2. Prepare attachments for each occupancy purpose

    A river occupancy permit application uses Form 29 of the Enforcement Rule of the River Act with the documents listed in Annex 4; land occupancy requires a location map, a plan showing cadastral boundaries and consent from interested parties. New construction, reconstruction or alteration of structures also requires hydraulic calculations, standard structural drawings, a rough construction cost estimate, an implementation plan description and a construction cost statement. For small rivers, Form 11 of the Enforcement Rule of the Small River Maintenance Act states the location, area, period and purpose, with design documents attached when facilities or artificial structures are installed.

  3. 3. File the application and track processing times

    There is no fee for a river occupancy permit application, and processing takes 10 days for land occupancy, 14 days for river facility occupancy, 20 days for structures, land alteration and extraction of earth and gravel, and 5 days for planting. For small rivers, the authority must notify approval or the reason for delay within 20 days of receiving the application and may extend this by up to 10 days after notifying the delay. If no notice is given within the deadline, the permit is deemed granted on the day after the deadline (Small River Maintenance Act Article 14(6)).

  4. 4. Pay occupancy fees and manage the validity period

    River occupancy fees are collected once a year: 3/100 of the land price per year of occupied area for structures and 2.5/100 for cultivation or pipe burial, which provincial ordinances may lower (Enforcement Decree of the River Act Annex 3). Validity periods are 5 years for land occupancy and 1 year for land alteration, among others, and an extension application on Form 32 must be filed before the period ends. Small river fees and charges are set by local ordinance, and the extension application (Form 15) must be filed at least one month before expiry.

  5. 5. File an administrative appeal against a refusal

    Check whether the stated reason for refusal falls under the considerations in Article 33(3), the prohibited acts in Article 33(4), or the prohibited acts in Article 46 of the River Act; if the notice only says the site is within a river zone, examine whether any specific legal ground for refusal exists. Submit an administrative appeal petition (Form 30 of the Enforcement Rule of the Administrative Appeals Act) to the deciding agency or the appeals commission within 90 days of learning of the decision and within 180 days of the decision. Decisions of a river basin office head or provincial governor are reviewed by the Central Administrative Appeals Commission, and decisions of a mayor, county head or district head by the provincial administrative appeals commission.

Required documents

  • River occupancy permit application (Enforcement Rule of the River Act, Form 29)
  • Small river occupancy/use permit application (Enforcement Rule of the Small River Maintenance Act, Form 11, for small rivers)
  • Location map and a plan showing cadastral boundaries (land occupancy, planting)
  • Consent of interested parties (common to all purposes in Annex 4 of the Enforcement Rule of the River Act)
  • New construction, reconstruction or alteration of structures: hydraulic calculations, standard structural drawings, rough construction cost estimate, implementation plan description and construction cost statement
  • Excavation, filling, cutting or other alteration of land: construction description
  • River facility impact analysis and restoration plan (where river facilities may be damaged during installation)
  • For joint applications by two or more persons: document proving the selection of a representative
  • When disputing a refusal: administrative appeal petition (Enforcement Rule of the Administrative Appeals Act, Form 30) and a copy of the refusal notice

Fees

Typically in the range of tens of thousands to several hundred thousand won in the industry · Quoted after consultation depending on the river type, the occupancy purpose, the scope of attachments and whether an administrative appeal petition is also needed. There is no fee for a river occupancy permit application, and small river permit fees are set by local ordinance.

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Legal basis and review date

  • River Act Article 7
  • River Act Article 8
  • River Act Article 33
  • River Act Article 37
  • River Act Article 46
  • Enforcement Decree of the River Act Article 34
  • Enforcement Decree of the River Act Article 42
  • Enforcement Decree of the River Act Annex 3
  • Enforcement Decree of the River Act Article 105
  • Enforcement Rule of the River Act Article 17
  • Enforcement Rule of the River Act Article 18
  • Enforcement Rule of the River Act Article 19
  • Enforcement Rule of the River Act Annex 4
  • Enforcement Rule of the River Act Annex 5
  • Enforcement Rule of the River Act Form 29
  • Small River Maintenance Act Article 2
  • Small River Maintenance Act Article 3
  • Small River Maintenance Act Article 14
  • Small River Maintenance Act Article 15
  • Small River Maintenance Act Article 22
  • Enforcement Decree of the Small River Maintenance Act Article 11
  • Enforcement Rule of the Small River Maintenance Act Article 10
  • Enforcement Rule of the Small River Maintenance Act Article 11
  • Enforcement Rule of the Small River Maintenance Act Form 11
  • Administrative Appeals Act Article 6
  • Administrative Appeals Act Article 23
  • Administrative Appeals Act Article 27
  • Enforcement Rule of the Administrative Appeals Act Form 30

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

  • If a river is occupied without a permit, the river management authority may collect 120/100 of the occupancy fee as an indemnity (River Act Article 37(3)), and small rivers are subject to an indemnity at the same rate (Small River Maintenance Act Article 22(2)). Land or facilities occupied under a permit may not be leased or subleased to others without the approval of the river management authority (River Act Article 33(5)).
  • The 90-day period for an administrative appeal cannot be extended, so record the date you received the refusal notice, and file any extension application for a river occupancy permit before its validity period ends.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I apply for a river occupancy permit?
It depends on the type of river and the purpose of occupancy. For national rivers, land occupancy and extraction of earth, sand and gravel are handled by the metropolitan/provincial government, while river facility occupancy and permits for new structures or land alteration are handled by the river basin or regional environmental office; local rivers are handled by the metropolitan/provincial government. For small rivers, apply to the mayor, county head or district head who designated the river, and confirm the actual receiving department with the river management department of the local city, county or district first.
How much is the river occupancy fee?
You pay every year an amount equal to the land price multiplied by a rate set for each purpose. Annex 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the River Act sets 3/100 for structures, 2.5/100 for cultivation and pipe burial, 5/100 for storage yards and 1.5/100 for other purposes, with the land price calculated from the officially announced standard land price using the land price comparison table. Provincial ordinances may lower the rates, and if the fee would rise by 5 percent or more over the previous year, it is capped at a 5 percent increase (except for aggregate extraction).
How long does a small river occupancy permit take?
The authority must notify its decision within 20 days of receiving the application. It may extend this by up to 10 days after notifying the reason for delay, and if it gives neither a decision nor a delay notice within the deadline, the permit is deemed granted on the day after the deadline (Small River Maintenance Act Article 14(6) and (7)). However, permits are restricted where there is a disaster risk or where it is particularly necessary for small river maintenance and conservation (Article 15 of the same Act).
Do I need an occupancy permit to farm on river land?
Yes, occupying land within a river zone for cultivation requires a river occupancy permit. Under Article 18 of the Enforcement Rule of the River Act, the applicant must obtain confirmation from the mayor, county head or district head of farming the land directly, and the area applied for must be within 30,000 square meters per household. For small rivers, customary occupancy for farming that does not affect the shape and function of the small river does not require a permit (Enforcement Decree of the Small River Maintenance Act Article 11).
Can I file an administrative appeal if my river occupancy permit is refused?
Yes, a refusal of a river occupancy permit is a disposition subject to administrative appeal. The appeal must be filed within 90 days of learning of the decision and within 180 days of the decision, and the petition is submitted to the deciding agency or the appeals commission (Administrative Appeals Act Articles 23 and 27). Because activities within a river zone are by nature carried out under an occupancy permit, a key issue in the petition is whether the refusal specifically states which standard of Article 33 or Article 46 applies.
Can an administrative agent prepare a river occupancy permit application?
Yes. Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office prepares river occupancy permit applications and small river occupancy/use permit applications, organizes the attachments and submits them to the competent authority on the applicant's behalf. If the permit is refused, the office prepares and submits the administrative appeal petition and supplementary briefs.

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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.