Crackdown on Illegal Harvesting of Forest Products like Mushrooms, Pine Nuts, and Wild Herbs... Imprisonment or Fines

Forest law enforcement officers are deploying drones on-site to crack down on illegal harvesting of forest products. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A large-scale crackdown on illegal harvesting of forest products without the consent of the landowners will be conducted.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 30th that it will carry out a special crackdown on the illegal harvesting of forest products such as mushrooms, pine nuts, and wild herbs until the end of next month.

According to the Korea Forest Service, illegal activities such as recruiting harvesters or trading illegally harvested forest products have been frequently occurring online through internet cafes and mobile bands recently.

In response, the Korea Forest Service will conduct a special crackdown jointly with regional forest management offices, national forest management offices, and local governments. Approximately 3,100 enforcement personnel, including forest special judicial police, petition forest protection staff, and forest drone surveillance teams, will be deployed for the crackdown.

In particular, the forest drone surveillance team will use drones to effectively monitor large forest areas. Additionally, forest special judicial police and others will conduct on-site enforcement activities in major areas where illegal activities occur.

The crackdown targets include illegal harvesting of forest products, illegal activities within free concession areas, and illegal internet group activities. Illegal acts by professional harvesters using internet recruiters and vehicles will be the focus of the crackdown.

The Korea Forest Service will apply a zero-tolerance policy and punish those who commit illegal acts. The “Act on the Creation and Management of Forest Resources” stipulates that anyone who harvests forest products within a forest without the owner's consent may face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

In addition, if someone litters or brings fire sources into the forest, the “Forest Protection Act” can be applied to impose a fine of up to 1 million won.

Cho Jun-gyu, head of the Forest Environment Protection Division at the Korea Forest Service, said, “Harvesting forest products within the forest without the consent of the landowner constitutes theft,” and urged “the voluntary participation of the public in forest protection.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.