Ditch occupancy and alternative use of agricultural infrastructure

Procedure

Procedure

1. 01

   1. Confirm the ditch owner and the governing law — Check the land register and the certificate of registered matters to see whether the ditch owner is the state, a local government, the Korea Rural Community Corporation or a private person, and look up whether it is registered as an irrigation or drainage channel in the city or county register of agricultural production infrastructure. Also check the land use plan confirmation for river or small river areas. If the ditch is privately owned, you need the owner's consent to use the land rather than a permit.

2. 02

   2. Prepare the access road structure and drawings — Decide how the ditch will be crossed (bridge, buried culvert pipe, covering and so on) and its width, length and area, and prepare a location map, cadastral map, plan and cross-section drawings. A use permit is granted only within a range that does not interfere with the original purpose or use (Article 23(2) of the Rural Community Development and Improvement Act), so the design must keep the water flow section and maintenance access. If the access road meets public road land, a road occupancy permit or connection permit should also be reviewed.

3. 03

   3. Submit the application suited to the managing body — For agricultural production infrastructure, fill in the purpose, method, period and area of use on Annexed Form No. 17 and submit it to the Korea Rural Community Corporation branch or the responsible city, county or district department. The manager posts the use details on its bulletin board and website for public inspection by relevant residents for at least 14 days, and residents may submit opinions during that period (Article 31-2 of the Enforcement Decree). For state-owned ditches, apply to the city, county or district with Annexed Form No. 4 under the Public Waters Act and attach consents if right holders such as adjacent landowners exist.

4. 04

   4. Receive the permit and pay usage fees — For use of agricultural production infrastructure, the usage fee for facilities managed by the state is 5/100 of the officially assessed land price, and facilities managed by the Korea Rural Community Corporation or local governments set fees by articles of incorporation or ordinances in line with this standard (Article 32 of the Enforcement Decree). A public waters occupancy permit has a processing period of 7 days where an implementation plan report is required and 14 days where approval is required, and occupancy fees are paid annually according to the city, county or district ordinance.

5. 05

   5. Construction, completion and renewal — With a public waters occupancy permit, report the implementation plan (within six months of the permit) or obtain its approval before construction, and complete a completion report or completion inspection after the works. The use period is up to 10 years for access roads on agricultural production infrastructure, 30 years for bridges and other solid artificial structures in public waters, and 15 years for other artificial structures, so apply for renewal or a period change permit before expiry.

Filing route

Filing route

Deadlines & processing notes

Deadlines & processing notes

Fees & official charges

Fees & official charges

Included in the basic fee — Initial document review, required-document guidance, basic form preparation, one filing support and responses to up to two supplement requests.

Conditional success fee — For this service, any conditional success fee may be separately agreed within the lawful service scope and stated in a written engagement agreement. No outcome is guaranteed.

Displayed amounts are starting estimates, not statutory or standard rates. The final fee is confirmed after consultation and document review in the engagement agreement. Government fees and actual expenses may change.

Basic documents

Basic documents

Filling in a ditch or burying pipes before a permit is granted, where the ditch is state-owned public waters, is punishable under Article 62 of the Public Waters Act by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30,000,000 won, and is subject to an indemnity charge of 120/100 of the occupancy fee and restoration. Where the area of agricultural production infrastructure used is 300 square meters or less, or only the period is renewed under the same conditions, the manager may allow use without a permit from the mayor, county head or district head (Article 31(3) of the Enforcement Decree), but the applicant must still apply to the manager for use.