South Korea seeks to ensure effectiveness of contaminated soil remediation orders 
On July 24, 2026, South Korean National Assembly member Kim Jeong-ho and nine other lawmakers submitted a bill to partially amend the Soil Environment Conservation Act (hereinafter “the Act”). The bill would introduce a new system allowing the imposition of financial penalties based on appraised land value on parties responsible for remediation and others who fail to comply with contaminated soil remediation orders. The bill aims to ensure the effectiveness of remediation orders and conserve soil ecosystems.
Background
Under the current Act, the competent authority may order parties responsible for remediating the land concerned and installers of facilities subject to specified soil contamination control to carry out contaminated soil remediation and other measures, including where soil contamination tests show that contamination levels exceed the threshold of concern. Failure to comply with such orders is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to KRW 20 million (approximately USD 14,600).
However, penalties under the current Act are significantly lower than the actual cost of soil remediation. As a result, some responsible parties have paid fines without complying with remediation orders for extended periods, while others have effectively evaded their remediation obligations by deliberately suspending and resuming remediation work.
Details of proposed changes
To address these issues, the bill would introduce a system allowing the imposition of non-compliance penalties (administrative enforcement charges) on parties responsible for remediation and installers of facilities subject to specified soil contamination control who fail to comply with orders to take measures concerning contaminated soil. The penalty would be set at 25% of the higher of the land’s appraised value or its individually published land price. Where no individually published land price exists for the land concerned, the officially published standard land price would be used in its place.
This new system is intended to ensure the effectiveness of soil remediation orders and contribute to the conservation of soil ecosystems (newly added Article 24-2 of the Act).
Proposed Article 24-2 of the Act (Non-compliance Penalty)
- If a person falling under any of the following subparagraphs fails to comply with an order within the prescribed period, the city or provincial governor, or the mayor, county head, or district head, may impose on that person a non-compliance penalty not exceeding 25% of the higher of the following values for the land concerned: (i) the appraised value determined by an appraisal corporation or similar entity under the Act on Appraisal and Appraisal Corporations; or (ii) the individually published land price under Article 10 of the Act on Public Announcement of Real Estate Values (where no individually published land price exists for the land concerned, the amount calculated based on the officially published standard land price under Article 8 of that Act).
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- A person who has received a soil remediation order under Article 11(3) or Article 14(1)
- A person who has received an order under Article 15(3)
- The city or provincial governor, or the mayor, county head, or district head, must give advance written notice of the intended imposition and collection of a non-compliance penalty under paragraph (1) at least 30 days before imposing the penalty.
- When imposing a non-compliance penalty under paragraph (1), the city or provincial governor, or the mayor, county head, or district head, must do so by means of a written notice specifying the amount of the penalty, the grounds for its imposition, the payment deadline, the institution receiving payment, the procedure for filing an objection, the authority with which an objection is to be filed, and other relevant particulars.
- Necessary matters, including the amounts of non-compliance penalties under paragraph (1) according to the types of acts subject to such penalties and the severity of the violations, and the procedures for refunding non-compliance penalties imposed and collected, shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
- The city or provincial governor, or the mayor, county head, or district head, may repeatedly impose and collect a non-compliance penalty under paragraph (1), up to twice a year, until the order concerned is complied with, using the date on which the initial order was issued as the reference date. In such cases, non-compliance penalties may not be imposed or collected for a period exceeding two years.
Note: On July 27, 2026, the proposed amendment was sent to the Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee for review.
Soil Environment Conservation Act (Act No. 21254):
https://law.go.kr/LSW//lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=281911&ancYd=20251230&ancNo=21254&efYd=20260331&nwJoYnInfo=Y&efGubun=Y&chrClsCd=010202&ancYnChk=0#0000
The source material for this article (in Korean) is available at the following link:
Ministry of Government Legislation, Public Participation Legislative Center — National Assembly Legislative Status:
https://opinion.lawmaking.go.kr/gcom/nsmLmSts/out/2220158/detailRP
