On the 24th, the Catholic Eco Forum (an open discussion forum on eco-friendliness) was held at the Catholic Center in Seoul, on the topic of "Land Justice."
The forum was jointly organized by the Environmental Pastoral Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul and the Headquarters for the Revitalization of Our Rural Areas, and the opening remarks were given by the director of the Land + Freedom Research Institute.
We live in a society where land, a public good, has been replaced by "real estate." Unearned income from real estate and land speculation, a major factor deepening inequality, peaked at approximately 460 trillion won in 2021. While it declined to approximately 288 trillion won in 2023, the average unearned income has accounted for 16.8 percent of GDP over the past 17 years.
"The skyrocketing land and housing prices mean that the hard-earned income of individuals and companies with little or no real estate ownership has been transferred to individuals and companies with substantial real estate ownership." "To put it bluntly, this unearned income is legal theft."
"You can't sell land outright is the Biblical understanding: “The land is mine” (Leviticus 25:23), means that all humanity has rights to land, natural resources, and the ecological environment, which were not created by humans. The director explained: “The biblical meaning is that everyone should equally enjoy the rights to land, and this is the spirit that can establish land justice.”
Seven Sabbath years will be forty-nine years. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, on the Day of Atonement, sound the trumpet loudly. It shall be a Jubilee for you. “Each of you shall return to his own land, and each of you shall return to his clan.” (Leviticus 25:8-10)
The concept of the “holy nation” in the Old Testament and the “kingdom of God” in the New Testament emphasizes “equality”. The director viewed this as the spirit of the Jubilee, emphasizing, “The Jubilee, signifying complete freedom and liberation, addresses issues such as debt, slave labor, land, animals, and the ecological environment, but the most important issue is ‘land.’”
Director Nam stated: "Historically, tenant farmers were psychologically and economically subordinated to landlords because they had no land. The reason land seems to have diminished in importance today is because it has been replaced by the term 'real estate. If we interpret 'real estate' as 'land,' the problem of 'landowners', and the housing problem can also be found in land."
"In almost all countries, the enormous unearned income generated from land and natural resources, which are privately owned, is enjoyed by individuals under the guise of 'protecting private property rights,' leading to persistent speculation."
The importance of land is evident in the fact that it is the primary culprit of inequality, and he explained that real estate, or land, is also the primary culprit of inequality in Korean society. The Gini coefficient, an indicator of income inequality, indicates that income distribution is more equal the closer it is to zero. In 2024, the Gini coefficient for private land ownership will exceed 0.8 based on value and 0.9 based on area.
In addition to the widening gap between landowners and those without, he also pointed out the impact of overdevelopment and ecosystem destruction caused by land issues. "The strong desire to carve mountains into open spaces and convert farmland and green spaces into residential or industrial land is because it makes money," he said. "If the value of land increased by changing the use of farmland and green spaces is recovered, encroachment by development will be significantly reduced, and lobbying and corruption for land use changes will disappear.
Director Nam proposes a way to achieve land justice in modern society. He proposed a "land dividend system." The land dividend system is a "land value sharing system" whereby society recoups and shares the compensation for excluding others from landowners. This system has a profound impact on the real estate ownership patterns of individuals and corporations, and is designed to benefit those with little or no ownership over those with excessive ownership.
Through land and housing we must work within our church community to address the housing challenges faced by young people, and we must raise our voices to block real estate speculation and restore equal rights to land and housing within society at large."
He then addressed the question, "Will the world change if the church does this?" He said, "Our faith is the substance of things hoped for. The Bible never supports historical determinism. The people who were exiled to Babylon were able to return because they repented and practiced the Jubilee." He emphasized that Korean society can change, and believing and acting on that belief is the faith the Bible gives us.
