The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 25th that it will designate 12 points of the base line for territorial sea and 17 border islands, including the five islands of the Yellow Sea, as areas requiring permission for foreign land transactions. The base line for territorial sea refers to the baseline of territorial waters that connects the outermost points of the land in a straight line.
Of the 17 areas designated this time for foreign land transaction permissions, the 12 points at the base line for territorial sea, which have been difficult to manage due to their distance from the inland, were designated as permission zones at the minimum administrative unit of the ri level to ensure the effectiveness of the designation. The five islands of the Yellow Sea were set as a permission zone for the entire island (3 sectors) considering their importance and specificity for national defense.
The newly designated islands include ▲Hongdo (Hansan-myeon, Tongyeong, Gyeongnam) ▲Habaekdo ▲Geomundo ▲Yeoseodo ▲Sasudo (Jangsudo) ▲Gagedo ▲Hongdo (Hongdo-ri, Heuksan-myeon, Sinan-gun, Jeonnam) ▲Goseo ▲Hoengdo ▲Sangwangdeungdo ▲Jikdo (Sopido) ▲Eocheongdo ▲Baengnyeongdo ▲Daecheongdo ▲Socheongdo ▲Dae Yeonpyeongdo ▲So Yeonpyeongdo, totaling 17.
This designation of permission zones comes 10 years after the designation of eight uninhabited islands at the base point of territorial sea as permission zones for the enhancement of marine territorial sovereignty in December 2014.
It has been consistently argued that there is a need to restrict foreign land transactions in areas such as the base line for territorial sea and border islands, to strengthen territorial sovereignty.
In line with this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revised the enforcement ordinance on the law regarding real estate transaction reports in October 2023 to strengthen the foreign land transaction permission system. Additionally, it granted the Ministry of National Defense and the National Intelligence Service the authority to request the designation of foreign land transaction permission zones for defense purposes. Based on this, the National Intelligence Service requested the designation of permission zones for 17 border island areas necessary for defense, after consulting with relevant security agencies, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport confirmed and announced this after deliberation by the Central Urban Planning Committee.
The designation of permission zones takes effect immediately after announcement. Foreigners seeking to acquire land in these zones must obtain permission from the city, county, or district before signing a land acquisition contract. The city, county, or district must determine whether to grant permission after consulting with relevant administrative agencies such as the Ministry of National Defense and the National Intelligence Service.
If a foreigner enters into a land acquisition contract without obtaining permission, that contract is void, and a penalty of imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won will be imposed.
Han Jeong-hee, head of the land policy department of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This designation of permission zones will allow for effective management of areas necessary for defense purposes, greatly contributing to strengthening our territorial sovereignty and national security."