South Korea is responding to a nationwide farmland inspection and slowing rural land market by formalizing some customary leases through the Farmland Bank while lawmakers seek to expand the institutions that can purchase, hold and lease farmland. Rep. Song Ok-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea plans to introduce a Farmland Act amendment allowing designated local-government-funded nonprofit corporations, consumer cooperatives and social cooperatives to operate as farmland holding rationalization corporations, potentially with central and local government interest subsidies. The proposal reflects concern that the Farmland Bank cannot absorb all land that could be offered for sale as prices and transactions decline, older farmers retire and inherited plots change hands. A July preliminary survey identified 2.84 million parcels covering about 300,000 hectares as suspected of violating farmland rules, though the government says the actual scope of violations remains undetermined pending in-depth verification. The government and ruling party have also said owners facing confirmed idle-land or leasing violations will first receive time to correct them, with those unable to do so able to entrust leasing and management to the Farmland Bank rather than immediately sell.