Diffuse pollution has been considering as a major source of the quality deterioration of water resources. The establishment of riparian vegetation strips or buffers along those areas of water bodies is used to reduce the threat of diffuse pollution. Remote sensing offers a means by which critical areas could be identified, so that subsequent action toward the establishment of riparian zones can be taken. On the behalf of KOMPSAT-2 satellite imagery as a high resolution spatial data, Landsat TM satellite data are used to aquire the land cover for the riparian buffers studied. This investigation aims to assess the riparian buffers established on the upper Geum river as a pollution mitigation. Through comparing the delineation of riparian buffer zones developed with the existing zones established by the government, we can find the critical distortion points of the existing riparian buffer zone.