The “Ancestral Land Searching” service is a land administrative service that protects the public’s right to know and right to property, by discovering and informing individuals of land that was owned by ancestors or separated families that have long since passed away. It was implemented by South Gyeongsang Province, for the first time, in 1993.
The service can be accessed through the K-Geo platform website of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT).
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■ Discovering your rights to Ancestral Land
?Discovering ancestral land that you didn’t even know existed?
Something straight out of a common folk tale is becoming a reality with this land administrative service that has been continuously expanding for thirty years, beginning in 1993. The service has gained traction as a policy that delivers descendants with ancestral land that was not properly inherited.
After experiencing Japanese colonization and the Korean War, Korea had tracts of land that had no ownership from owners passing away or going missing. There were also countless cases where, as a result of unfortunate accidents and neglected estate management, land status could not be identified and property was improperly inherited. The “Ancestral Land Searching” Service allowed unaware descendants to be informed of ancestor-owned land property, thus enacting a policy of protecting the public’s right to know, and right to property.
Implemented for the first time in 1993 in the South Gyeongsang Province, this policy was expanded nationwide in 2001 due to the central government’s assertive efforts. Furthermore, in 2012, through an advanced land information system, land search could be performed at every municipal government at the city, gun (county) and gu (district) level.
Ancestral Land Searches, in accordance with Korean Civil Law (Inheritance Part), can be requested by succession householders if the ancestor passed away prior to January 1st, 1960, while spouses and direct descendants are eligible to request if the ancestor passed away after that date.
Furthermore, land that was owned by parents, spouses, and children who passed away after January 1st, 2008, can be even more conveniently inquired through the “Online Ancestral Land Searching” service. However, the basic certificate (previously, the “family relation register”) based on the deceased (the subject of search) must have a date of death recorded, and a certificate of family registry should be present to confirm the family relation between the deceased and the inquiring party.
■ A Service that Started from a Student’s Simple Request.
Any project begins from a small sliver of interest. The “Ancestral Land Searching” service began from the suggestion of one warm-hearted public servant. On April 16th, 1993, Mr. Son, Ho-ryong, a chief cadastral officer of South Gyeongsang Province, received a request from a female middle school student who had lost her father and only parent in a traffic accident. She was in search of land that had belonged to her late father. During Mr. Son’s effort to help her find her father’s land, he realized that there was a surprising amount of land without proper ownership, and suggested the “Ancestral Land Search” project, which was accepted as a special initiative by South Gyeongsang Province. A land administrative service that protects the right of property for citizens began by discovering unknown ancestral land for unaware descendants.
With further public approval of the project, the Korean government expanded the service to all cities and provinces beginning in 2001. Civil petitioners that are registering for inheritance following the passing of their parents, register for a ancestral land petition at each City, Gun, and Gu’s public office, which in turn provides details of ancestor-owned real-estate through the electronic land information network.
■ “Ancestral Land Search” requests, now online from the comfort of your home
The “Ancestral Land Search” project, initiated in April of 1993 with the suggestion of a single cadastral officer in the province, has developed into a nationwide public service that can be easily and conveniently utilized anytime and anywhere. After being expanded in late 2001 to every city and province in the nation, land inquiries for every corner of the nation, including each city, gun and gu, have become possible starting June 2012. (Guides on utilizing the “Ancestral Land Search” service are provided on the Government24(정부24) website. ☞ Please click Here to access the “Ancestral Land Search” information page in Korean)
One remaining inconvenience that remained with the “Ancestral Land Search” service was the petitioners’ need to visit municipal governments (city, gun, gu offices) with documented proof that can confirm their inheritance from dead relatives. In response to this, beginning November 21st, 2022, the Korean government implemented “Online Ancestral Land Search” services through the “V-World” website online. Citizens could now utilize the service with even more convenience from the comfort of their homes.
Currently, as of 2024, the “Online Ancestral Land Search” service can be accessed by entering the K-Geo Platform (https://kgeop.go.kr), operated by the MOLIT. By clicking on the “Search for Ancestral Land” option located in the center of the first screen, individuals can gain access to the service after personal verification. (The Online Ancestral Land Service only allows the lookup of land property owned by individuals who passed away 2008 and onwards.
Online service for Ancestral Land Search begins ⓒ MBC (Broadcasted November 21st, 2022)
For five years, between 2017 and 2021, the “Ancestral Land Search” service has recorded approximately 450 thousand inquiries on average per year, with a total of 730 thousand lots of land discovered for rightful owners. The area where the most land was identified with new owners through this service during the year 2022 was the Seocho District of Seoul. As a result of the 10,642 inquiries in 2022, 1,485 citizens claimed over 3.63 million square meters of land.
In South Gyeongsang Province, where the service first began, an accumulative total of 694,320 inquiries had been registered by late 2023 since the launch of the service. Returning 1,845,346 lots of land to 317,912 individual petitioners, the province continues to make efforts for the province's citizens to enact their right to property.
