Hanam City faces legal costs over expired land lease contracts

The Hanam City Council is demanding accountability and systemic reforms following a lawsuit involving the unauthorized use of 92 parcels of land owned by the Korea Rural Community Corporation. The city had entered a 10-year free lease agreement in 2003, but failed to follow renewal procedures when the contract expired in 2013.

As a result of the continuous use without a valid contract, the Korea Rural Community Corporation filed an unjust enrichment lawsuit. While a first-instance ruling resulted in a loss for Hanam City, a subsequent appellate court ruling reportedly reduced the estimated financial burden to approximately 1 billion KRW.

Council members from both major political parties have criticized the city's administrative management. Chairperson of the Urban Construction Committee, Jeong Hye-young, emphasized that the issue should not be dismissed as a simple handover error between staff members, but rather as a failure of the city's administrative oversight system. Council members are calling for a standardized contract management system and a comprehensive investigation into all land leased by the city to ensure no other illegal usage exists.