[2020 National Audit] The Disappearance of 259 Protected Trees... Need for Unified Management by the Korea Forest Service

Current status data of designated protected trees by city/province and tree species nationwide as of last month. Provided by the office of Assemblyman Kim Young-jin.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] It has been revealed that 259 protected trees have disappeared over the past five years due to poor management. Protected trees are mainly designated as old trees, large trees, and rare trees with historical and academic value.

According to data on the removal of protected trees over the past five years submitted by the Korea Forest Service to Kim Young-jin, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 44 protected trees were canceled in 2016, 43 in 2017, 42 in 2018, 100 in 2019, and 30 as of September 2020.

By reason for cancellation, natural death accounted for the largest number with 109 cases, followed by natural disasters and calamities with 107, pest damage with 10, vandalism with 8, and others with 25.

Protected trees are designated comprehensively under Article 13 of the Forest Protection Act to include old trees, large trees, rare trees, and other trees that require special protection. As of last month, the total number of designated protected trees remaining nationwide was counted at 13,905.

The problem lies in management. Protected trees can be designated by the head of the Korea Forest Service or the mayor/governor of a city/province. Based on this, as of last month, the Korea Forest Service had designated a total of 24 protected trees, one less than in 2018, while local government heads had designated a total of 13,876 protected trees (accounting for 99.8% of the combined Korea Forest Service and local government total), with 36 fewer than previously confirmed.

Based on this, Assemblyman Kim believes that the dual management system for protected trees has led to an increase in the number of protected trees disappearing without proper protection.

Assemblyman Kim stated, “The poor financial independence of local governments and the lack of specialized management personnel act as practical limitations to managing protected trees,” and pointed out, “Moreover, since the management of protected trees was transferred to local governments in 2005, there has been no project or budget for protected tree management within the Korea Forest Service.”

He further argued, “There is a need to consider unifying the management of protected trees under the Korea Forest Service, which has expertise in pest control and tree management, to effectively manage protected trees.”

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