Ideas for Promoting Groundwater Usage Charge Efficiency to Ensure Resources for Efficient Groundwater Management
Jo Man Seok (KRIHS associate research fellow) et al.

Summary
□ The groundwater usage charge system holds significance both as the only current legal means for local governments to obtain financial resources for the preservation and management of groundwater and as a means of public regulation to prevent excessive groundwater development.

□ Despite over a decade having passed since the groundwater usage charge system was first introduced, only around 35% of basic local governments have implemented it. In addition to the extremely slow rate of adoption, only 57% of charges collected are applied to groundwater management special accounts, leaving many local governments unable to obtain adequate funds for groundwater management.

□ The unit cost per cubic meter for the groundwater usage charge remains relatively low, while the institution’s efficiency has been diminished by exemptions for homes, general water utility projects, and agricultural and fishing operations, which use large volumes of groundwater.

□ Scenario analysis for various policy means of improving the groundwater usage charge system showed a need for exemption target segmentation.