Public Waters Occupancy and Use Permit Application

Procedure

Procedure

1. 01

   1. Confirm the applicable law and the managing authority — Check with topographic and cadastral maps whether the site is sea beyond the coastline, foreshore between the coastline and registered land, or state-owned river or ditch waters. If the site is within a river area, a small river area, agricultural production infrastructure, or port or fishing port facilities, the permit procedure of that law applies instead of this Act. The regional oceans and fisheries office manages state-managed trade and coastal port areas and the exclusive economic zone, the city or province manages locally managed port areas, and the city, county or district manages the rest.

2. 02

   2. Identify right holders and consultation requirements — If there are right holders listed in Article 12 of the Enforcement Decree, such as existing permit holders, holders of fishery or aquaculture licenses, persons with fishing entry rights, or owners or occupants of adjacent land or structures, a permit is issued only with their consent (Article 12(2) of the Act). Also check whether the project is subject to environmental impact assessment or marine use consultation or assessment so that the consultation results can be attached on schedule.

3. 03

   3. Prepare and submit the application and design documents — Submit the Annexed Form No. 4 application with a business plan, area calculation drawings and design documents, a 1:25,000 topographic map or coastal information map marking the site, and a certified copy of the cadastral map. The authority consults related administrative agencies and, where necessary, hears interested parties such as fishers, and an agency asked for consultation must give its opinion within 20 days (Article 7 of the Enforcement Decree). If the requested period is within the statutory limit, at least half of the requested period is in principle granted (Article 11(3) of the Enforcement Decree).

4. 04

   4. Receive the permit and pay occupancy and use fees — When the permit is granted, a permit certificate in Annexed Form No. 5 is issued and the permit is publicly announced. For permits of one year or more, the fee up to the first May 31 is paid when the permit is granted, and afterwards a one-year fee is billed as of June 1 each year and paid within 20 days of the notice (Article 11 of the Enforcement Rule). For artificial structures in waters managed by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries the fee is based on 3/100 of the officially assessed individual land price of adjacent land, and waters managed by cities, counties and districts follow municipal ordinances within that range.

5. 05

   5. Implementation plan approval or report and completion — Works whose scale and total cost meet the Presidential Decree criteria require implementation plan approval within one year of the permit, and other activities require an implementation plan report within six months, before construction starts (Article 17 of the Act). After the works are finished, apply for a completion inspection or report completion, and because structures must be removed and the waters restored when the permit period ends, apply in advance for a period change permit if continued use is needed.

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 one ordinary supplement.

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

Letting another person occupy or use permitted public waters violates Article 8(8) and is punishable by imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 10,000,000 won, and using the waters beyond the permit period without a change permit is subject to the same penalty and an indemnity charge. Missing the implementation plan approval deadline (one year from the permit) or report deadline (six months), or failing to pay occupancy fees, may lead to permit cancellation or an order to relocate structures, so manage deadlines from the date the permit certificate is received.