농지법상 농지(農地)의 판단 기준 - 지목(地目)의 기능을 중심으로 -

In the definition of farmland under the Farmland Act, land category as fields, paddy fields and orchards are assumed to be original farmland and are regulated differently from lands of other categories. This regulatory system means that even though the Farmland Act adopts the status quo principle, land category functions as a criterion for judging whether a land is farmland. Even in that farmland is defined depending on the land category, it should be seen that the land category functions as a principle criterion for judging farmland. However, in the current practice, when it is an issue whether it is farmland or not, there is a problem in that the land category principle is overlooked while only the status quo principle is emphasized. Based on the precedents in the past when whether it is farmland or not, the court has judged farmland based on the status quo principle, but the legal criteria of ease of restoration (when the status quo as farmland is lost and the loss cannot be regarded as temporary) based on this, the application of the status quo principle has been limited, and recently, the scope of its application is further limited in consideration of the normative judgment criteria (whether illegal activities were involved in the use of farmland). The normative judgment criteria presented by the precedent is incompatible with the factual judgment criteria of the existing status quo, and it should be understood that the precedent presented a separate standard for farmland judgment. In that it is incompatible with the status quo principle, the normative judgment criteria means that the criteria for farmland judgment is changing from the status quo principle to the land category principle. It can be evaluated that the law principle has developed. The permission to divert farmland has the function of regulating the illegal diversion of farmland for the purpose of preserving farmland, and for that purpose, it should be seen that the subject of the permit is limited to the original farmland, which is a field, a paddy field, or an orchard. Land category, which is the criterion for judging whether it is original farmland, functions as a criterion for determining whether it is subject to permission for diversion to farmland, and ultimately functions as a criterion for judging whether it is farmland or not through the normative judgment criteria suggested by precedents. In addition to the urban planning function of judging development permission, land category functions as a criterion for judging farmland under the Farmland Act. As the administrative functions performed by land category gradually diversify and become more effective, it is time for a more systematic and thorough interpretation considering the administrative functions of land category in the regulatory system of the Farmland Act, the Act on the Establishment and Management of Spatial Data, and the National Land Planning and Utilization Act.