농지임대차표준계약서의 구성과 주요 내용

The construction and main contents of a standard contract for agricultural lease

This research aims to devise the structure and the contents of a standard contract for agricultural lease. The valid organization and context of a standard contract for agricultural lease are also discussed by examining both the legal definition of agricultural lands and the existing standard contract for lease and combining them. Practical cases where the use of standard contract for lease is legislated are collected and categorized first, and then compared with two cases each from Japan and Germany where the standard contract for agricultural lease was used. In principle, leasing agricultural land is illegal in Korea with the possible exceptions. Hence the standard contract for agricultural lease has never been provided, and also this area lacks experts who are able to identify key attributes of leasing agricultural land. Regardless whether leasing agricultural land is legislated or not, preparing a standard contract for agricultural lease is essential to safeguard farm workers who are socially disadvantaged. This research presents the issues of fact and a comprehensive structure of the standard contract for agricultural lease rather than proposing a deterministic form of contract to comply with the space limit. The key aspects that we suggest to be specified in the standard contract for agricultural lease are following: the eligibility conditions of a lessee and a lessor who are the parties to the contract, the definition of scope for agricultural land including farmland, plants, and temporary facilities which are the objects of the contract, the date when a contract is signed, the amount of rent, the means to pay the rent, the right and responsibility of the parties of the contract, the obligation on the expenses for any improvement, the commencement and the termination of the contract, and lessee’s right to remove fixtures and buildings. Considering that no official standard contract for agricultural lease is provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs yet, this work has been conducted in the hope of helping the settlement of a standard contract for agricultural lease in the near future.