[DiaryPoint = Reporter Park Bo-young] Many public facilities people use every day, including parks, libraries and community service centers, are connected to property owned and managed by local governments. But a facility does not qualify as public property just because it serves the public; what matters is whether a local government actually owns it.
Ownership, not public use, determines whether property qualifies
Public property is distinct from state-owned property, which belongs to the national government. It includes land and buildings acquired or received as donations by local governments, such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government or its district offices. Certain legal rights, intellectual property and securities may also be included.
A neighborhood park or library does not automatically become local government property just because residents share it. The key question is whether the local government owns the facility or whether another public agency or private operator owns it while the local government only runs it.
Comparing public records can reveal missing assets
Local governments are responsible for tracking their public property and changes to it. In a pilot nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety from March 2024 to June 2025, officials compared local governments’ property registers with real estate registration records, land registers and building registers.
The review identified about 157,000 properties missing from official registers or requiring corrections to their registration, with a total estimated value of about 20 trillion won. The survey is not simply an effort to expand asset lists; it also helps identify unused land and buildings and explore how they might be put to use.
Five-year surveys are set to begin in October 2027
A revision to the Public Property and Commodity Management Act authorizes the minister of the interior and safety to conduct a comprehensive survey of local government property every five years. It also establishes a basis for annual analysis and assessment of each local government’s management and for building a system to consolidate related information.
However, the provisions on the survey and management assessments take effect on October 13, 2027, one year after the law’s promulgation. A nationwide survey will not begin immediately after the revision; specific methods and procedures are to be set by presidential decree.
Residents can check who owns a facility they use through the relevant local government’s property management office or publicly available property and facility information. As the surveys and information system get underway, information on the ownership and management of neighborhood parks and public buildings is expected to become easier to find in one place.