Some of the island’s water is exclusively for agricultural use, and it’s much cheaper than water used for other purposes. Dozens of accommodations and construction contractors have been caught in recent months illegally using this water. Joseph Kim reports.

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Gujwa-eup, Jeju City

The farm water pipeline has been cut off.

The pipeline had been extended to a nearby guesthouse for years.

The owner of the guesthouse was caught in a crackdown on the illegal use of farm water.

INTERVIEW
Guesthouse representative
We’ve used the water for two years for our yard. I didn't know that water was only for agricultural use.
<인터뷰 : 펜션 관계자>
"잔디 물 주고 뒤에 또 잔디 물 주고 그런 용도로 한 2년 정도 쓰다가, 들어와있는 게 농업용수인지 모르고 당연히 상수도인 줄 알고 썼던 거야"

Another farm water misuse case was caught at an apartment building construction site.

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24 violations over past 3 months

24 cases of farm water misuse have been caught over the last three months across the island.

In most of the cases, pipelines for agricultural water were not closed when the use of farmland was converted into a residential area.
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The price of farm water is between 30 and 50 won per ton, while the price of business water is 690 won per ton. It can be up to 23 times the difference in price.

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Irrigation associations of rural villages have failed to oversee management of the farm water and its misuse has been left unsupervised.

INTERVIEW
Go Gwon-su / Jeju City construction dept.
The illegal use of farm water definitely aggravates water shortages. We're cracking down on violations at accommodations and houses.
<인터뷰 : 고권수 제주시 건설과>
"당연히 (농업용수를) 불법으로 쓰게 되면 (물 부족이) 심화될 수밖에 없습니다. 농업용수는 밭작물을 위해서 공급하는 용수이기 때문에 펜션이나 개인 주택 이런 불법으로 쓰는 것들은 강력히 단속을 해야될 것으로"

[Reporter] Joseph Kim
[Camera] Hyeon Gwang-hoon

Authorities are training local irrigation associations to encourage them to better manage farm water.

Along with the training, authorities will reinforce the crackdown on illegal use of agricultural water at guesthouses and residential areas.

Joseph Kim, KCTV