Illegal Mountain Land Conversion Damage 'Snowballing'... 67% Increase Over 4 Years

by Jeong Ilwoong

Published 23 Sep.2022 09:25(KST)

Illegal Mountain Area Conversion Crackdown Status by City and Province from 2017 to June 2022. Provided by Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon's Office (Source: Korea Forest Service)

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] It has been pointed out that the scale of damage caused by illegal conversion of forest land has recently increased significantly.

According to data submitted by the Korea Forest Service to Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon (Democratic Party·Naju Hwasun), a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee, the total damage from illegal forest land conversion nationwide last year was estimated at 53.137 billion KRW (forest land area 450 hectares).

This is an increase of 21.262 billion KRW (66.7%) compared to 31.875 billion KRW (forest land area 405 hectares) in 2018.

The damage amount in the first half of this year was 32.35 billion KRW, and including the damage in the second half, it is expected that the scale of damage could be larger than last year.

Last year, the damage by region from illegal forest land conversion was highest in Chungnam with 11.4 billion KRW, followed by Gyeongbuk with 10.9 billion KRW, Chungbuk with 6 billion KRW, Gyeonggi with 5.7 billion KRW, and Jeonnam with 4.3 billion KRW.

Status data on unrecovered areas due to illegal mountain area exclusive use. Provided by Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon's office (Source: Korea Forest Service)

On the other hand, responses to illegal forest land conversion are insufficient. For example, over the past 4 years and 6 months, the total area monitored for illegal forest land conversion was 1,854 hectares, of which 551 hectares (26%) remain unrestored to date.

Assemblyman Shin understands that during the same period, 17 people were arrested and 10,837 were sent to prosecution without detention for illegal forest destruction.

Assemblyman Shin stated, “The damage caused by illegal forest land conversion, which destroys the forest environment, is increasing every year, and the area that has not been restored is also considerable. Enforcement against illegal forest land conversion must be strengthened to rationally conserve and utilize forest land.”