Former Lawmaker Kim Jin-tae Criticizes Moon Government, Saying "It Devours the Nation's Economy and Destroys Healthy Trees"... 'Carbon Neutrality' Critique

"Visiting the site, Chuncheon and Hongcheon already face severe forest damage"

Image capture of the homepage of Kim Jin-tae Political Culture Research Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Kim Jin-tae, Chairman of the People Power Party Chuncheon City Party Members' Council, sharply criticized the Moon Jae-in administration's 'carbon neutrality' policy.

On the 17th, Chairman Kim posted on his SNS account 'Jintaesaenggak' that "The Moon Jae-in administration claims to be conducting a '3 billion tree planting campaign,' but in reality, they are cutting down 3 billion trees," adding, "There is no place to plant trees, so they are cutting them down. Upon visiting the site, the forest damage in Chuncheon and Hongcheon is already severe."

He continued, "They say trees over 30 years old have reduced carbon absorption capacity and are cutting down old trees, which makes no sense. If that were true, it would mean all the primary forests on Earth should be destroyed," refuting the government's carbon neutrality policy logic.

The government, regarding 'carbon neutrality,' has argued that "trees over 30 years old have reduced carbon absorption ability," and has promoted a plan to massively log forests and then plant 3 billion young trees, sparking controversy.

The Korea Forest Service has also revealed plans to expand the annual logging volume from 5 million cubic meters to 8 million cubic meters based on timber harvest volume.

Experts have countered, saying, "There are many studies showing that old forests have superior carbon reduction capabilities."

Some critics argue, "As the current administration reduces nuclear power plants, which have low carbon emissions, one by one, causing setbacks in carbon reduction goals, they are illogically targeting healthy forests and old trees by logging them."

Chairman Kim also stated, "The function of trees is not only carbon absorption. Forests are pleasant to look at, provide places to rest, and prevent landslides. Yet, with clumsy number games, they are destroying forests and threatening public health and safety," criticizing the policy.

He added, "This is the second nuclear phase-out. Our beautiful mountains are being ravaged, while they say they will plant 300 million trees in North Korea. They have already drained the national economy and are now ruining even healthy trees," he sharply condemned.

This refers to the Korea Forest Service's plan to plant 300 million of the 3 billion trees in North Korea and 100 million in newly created urban forests.

Meanwhile, according to a study published in 'Nature' in 2014 by scientists from 16 countries including the U.S. and China, trees with a diameter of 100 cm grow three times faster than those with a diameter of 50 cm, and their ability to sequester carbon improves as they age.

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