Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Detect 53 Cases of Unauthorized Damage to Forest Area Three Times the Size of a Soccer Field

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered a large number of illegal activities where individuals changed the terrain and installed facilities without permission on mountains designated as development-restricted areas or natural parks, where development is prohibited. The area of damaged mountain land amounts to 20,721 square meters, which is three times the size of a soccer field.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare announced on the 17th that from the 17th to the 28th of last month, they conducted on-site inspections of 360 mountain plots suspected of damage through aerial photographs and detected 53 violations of the Mountain Management Act and the Natural Parks Act.

Among the major cases uncovered, Mr. A was caught illegally converting 783 square meters of forest land in Gwangju-si into farmland. Mr. B was caught creating a cemetery and even paving it with asphalt on 1,393 square meters of forest land in Yangju-si without permission.

Mr. C, a self-employed restaurant owner in Uiwang-si, was caught during this crackdown for creating a parking lot on 1,435 square meters of forest land without a mountain land conversion permit and operating it.

Mr. D was caught for converting 663 square meters of forest land in Hanam-si into a church parking lot; Mr. E was caught installing a vinyl greenhouse for employee rest areas on 135 square meters of forest land in Hanam-si; and Mr. F was caught installing a warehouse on 264 square meters of forest land in Siheung-si, all violating the Mountain Management Act.

The province requested the relevant local governments to promptly restore the illegally altered sites to their original state and take administrative actions, and referred the cases to the prosecution.

Kim Min-kyung, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare, emphasized, "We will proactively respond to illegal activities within forests and natural parks to preserve the natural environment and ensure that residents can enjoy a pleasant natural environment."

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