농지상속 실태와 정책 과제

Abstract

상속제도는 사유재산 제도와 궤를 같이하고 있다. 하지만 농지상속은 일반적인 재산상속과는 차별화된 의미가 있기에, 여러 선진국에서는 농업경영규모의 영세화 방지와 건전한 가족농 육성을 위해 다양한 상속지원 제도와 정책적 개입 등이 이루어지고 있다.

우리나라 농업은 가족농을 근간으로 삼아왔다. 하지만 산업화 과정에서 많은 수의 농가 자녀가 도시로 이동하면서 가구원 수가 감소하였고, 이 때문에 농촌사회에서 농가의 가족 형태는 점차 독신가구나 핵가족의 형태로 바뀌면서 농가의 지속성이 취약해지고 있다. 영농승계 인력이 부족한 상태에서 기존 농업인의 은퇴나 사망은 비농민 농지소유의 확대로 귀결된다.

우리 농촌 사회는 이미 2010년 초고령 사회에 진입한 상태이다. 게다가 1995년 이후 영농규모화사업 지원 등을 통해 영농규모를 확대한 전업농가들이 점차 고령화되면서 경영규모를 축소해 나가고 있다. 따라서 정책적 지원으로 육성된 농가들이 은퇴 후 임대, 상속형태로 농지를 분산할 가능성이 높은데, 이에 대한 대책을 수립하는 것이 중요한 과제이다.

이 연구는 우리나라 농지상속 실태를 조사하여 지속 가능한 농업경영 측면에서 바람직한 정책 개선방안을 제시하는 것이 주된 목적이다.

Background of Research This study focuses on investigating the actual state of farmland inheritance and presenting desirable improvement methods in the aspect of sustainable agricultural management. This study is to find out the methods for stable management succession by inheritors or other farmers in the aspect of agricultural structure policy. Therefore, the main contents of this study include the problems, tasks, and methods of farmland inheritance for sustainable agricultural management.

Method of Research In order to provide the improvement methods, the following steps are to be taken: 1) identify the actual state of farmland inheritance (in case of professional farmers versus general farmers and inheritors) 2) analyze its influence to agricultural management 3) derive tax matters related to it, and 4) provide the system for it, which supports successive farmers to be its beneficiaries and leads the people who are not farmers to use their inherited farmland with maximized efficiencies, and make policy improvements

Research Results and Implications The main contents of this paper are described in four chapters as follows: In Chapter 2, we figure out the farmland inheritance system and its problems by reviewing the related laws. Then, we review the inheritance related systems, such as the Family Business Inheritance Support System and the Agricultural Management Inheritance Support System. In Chapter 3, we discuss the actual state of farmland inheritance and farmer succession, and also their problems. At first, by using the data from the nationwide statistics, the trend of farmland inheritance and the actual state of farmer succession are reviewed. Especially in regard to farmer succession, the factors influencing the selection of major inheritors are analyzed. Then, through a survey, the actual state of specific agricultural inheritance, inheritance intentions, etc. are identified. In Chapter 4, we also discuss the case studies related to farmland inheritance in other countries. At first, agricultural inheritance laws in Germany, Japan and France are examined. The German system does not recognize division of farmland inheritance among sibling inheritors but recognizes the inheritance by only one sibling among them. In contrast, the Japanese and French systems are for the equal division of inheritance. Regarding the inheritance support system, we review case studies in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Chapter 5 is for the farmland inheritance system and its policy improvement methods, including the vision, direction, and tasks for fulfilling sustainable agricultural management. The policy methods are, in large part, divided into two: the one which supports agricultural inheritance of successive farmers and the other which leads people who are not engaged in agriculture to maximize efficiencies of their inherited farmland.

Researcher(s): Gwang-Seok Chae, Seok-Doo Park Research Period: 2012. 1～2012. 12 E-mail address: gschae@krei.re.kr