Although the error rate for cadastral surveys conducted by the Korea Land and Geospatial Information Corporation (LX) is only 0.008%, it has been found that when citizens file objections and a resurvey is conducted, the original survey results change in one out of every 10 cases.
According to an analysis of data received from LX on October 2 by Rep. Heo Young of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Chuncheon, Cheorwon, Hwacheon, and Yanggu, Gangwon Province), a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee, LX processed 1,918,614 cadastral surveys from 2021 through August of this year. Of these, survey results were corrected in 153 cases, accounting for 0.008%.
However, among the 1,517 verification surveys—conducted during the same period in response to objections to survey results—the original results were corrected in 153 cases (10.1%). The 153 cases corrected through verification surveys matched exactly the total number of result corrections tallied by LX. This means that errors are being corrected only through the process of re-verification triggered by public complaints.
The annual correction rates were 10.4% in 2021 (36 out of 345 cases), 8.9% in 2022, 10.7% in 2023, 9.1% in 2024, and 10.8% in 2025; this year, through August, the rate rose to 11.6% with 17 corrections out of 146 cases. The error rate relative to the total number of surveys this year was also 0.010%, higher than in previous years (0.007–0.008%). The number of cases processed decreased from 455,396 in 2021 to 272,059 in 2025.
The most common reason for verification surveys was the claim that “past and current survey results differ,” with 794 cases; of these, 99 (12.5%) were corrected, accounting for 64.7% of all corrections. The highest correction rate was for claims of “suffering damages due to the survey,” with 18 out of 44 cases (40.9%) corrected. “Objections regarding the correction of survey results or the inability to provide them” were also corrected in 10 out of 34 cases (29.4%). In contrast, only 4.3% of requests for resurveying (392 cases) and 3.8% of cases where current usage was cited as the boundary (156 cases) were corrected.
Since cadastral surveying provides the foundational data for verifying land boundaries and areas, incorrect results can lead to property rights issues such as construction disputes, land transactions, and boundary disputes with neighboring properties. Critics argue that authorities should not merely correct errors after citizens raise concerns but should proactively review similar survey results by analyzing correction cases and their causes.
Representative Heo Young stated, “While the error rate appears to be only 0.008% when looking at the total number of survey cases, in cases where citizens questioned the survey results and requested a re-examination, the original results were corrected in one out of every ten cases,” and “We must not remain stuck in a system where errors are only rechecked after the public raises concerns,” he pointed out. He went on to emphasize, “We must strengthen our quality control system by thoroughly analyzing the causes of corrections in verification surveys and, when errors are confirmed, proactively reviewing similar past survey results as well.”
