Starting from the 24th, it will be allowed to use "rural stay-type shelters," which have upgraded the currently prohibited lodging "farmhouses" to allow for short-term accommodation.
On the 23rd, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that the "shelter" system, which was introduced last August at the meeting of ministers related to national policy issues, would be implemented starting from the 24th after gathering opinions from local governments like cities and counties and revising sub-regulations under the "Farmland Act."
"Shelters" reflect public opinion that there is a need for temporary accommodation facilities where one can simultaneously experience agriculture and rural living in response to the increasing demand for returning to farming and residing in rural areas. It is a new rural stay-type facility that replaces the concept of the currently prohibited lodging "farmhouses."
The procedure for installing shelters is simple. It can be done without obtaining farmland conversion approval, just by reporting the construction of a temporary building and registering it in the farmland register. The facility size can be installed within a total floor area of 33㎡, excluding auxiliary facilities such as decks, parking lots, and sewage treatment facilities.
At the time of the initial introduction announcement, the maximum duration of establishment was limited to 12 years, but it has now been allowed to maintain facilities for more than 12 years according to local government building regulations.
Yun Won-sup, director of agricultural policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, noted, "The spread of the rural population through the activation of weekend and experiential farming is an important task to respond to rural extinction," and expressed hope that the rural stay-type shelter would quickly settle in and play a pivotal role in responding to rural extinction.