Korea Forest Service to Purchase Private Forests Equivalent to 14 Times Yeouido This Year

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service plans to purchase private forests amounting to 14 times the size of Yeouido. The purpose of purchasing private forests is to enhance the public value of forests and improve the efficiency of forest management and administration.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 20th that it will spend 56.3 billion KRW this year to purchase 4,146 hectares of private forest.

The purchase of private forests will be conducted by distinguishing between a 'lump-sum payment type' and a 'forest pension type.' The lump-sum payment type pays the purchase price in a single payment, and the Korea Forest Service plans to invest 48.8 billion KRW to purchase 3,566 hectares of private forest.

The forest pension type pays the purchase price in installments over 10 years, and this year, a budget of 7.5 billion KRW will be used to purchase 580 hectares of private forest.

This year’s budget for purchasing private forests by the Korea Forest Service is an increase of 11.6 billion KRW compared to the previous year. Notably, the standard unit price for lump-sum payment type private forest purchases will be raised by 20% compared to last year’s national average standard unit price, which is a point worth attention.

The purchase of private forests under the forest pension type will also see a relaxation of the upper limit price restriction system compared to the initial implementation last year.

The system has been improved to allow up to 40% of the purchase price to be received upfront, and shared forest land previously classified as restricted purchase areas now includes shared ownership of up to four people (or five or more if over 30 hectares) as eligible for purchase.

The target private forests for purchase are public-interest forests where development activities are restricted or forests necessary for the management and administration of national forests, prioritizing forests requiring conservation such as Baekdudaegan protection areas, watershed conservation zones, buffer zones of the National Arboretum, and Jeju Gotjawal.

The purchase price of private forests is determined by the arithmetic average of appraisals from two certified appraisers. One appraisal institution can be recommended by the forest owner selling the forest.

Applications for private forest purchase are accepted year-round at the National Forest Management Office until the budget is exhausted.

Purchased forests will be utilized as national forest policy spaces through systematic management and administration, including establishing management plans according to forest functions, conserving forest ecosystems, promoting forest recreation, and fostering forest resources.

Song Jun-ho, Director of National Forest Management at the Korea Forest Service, said, “By 2028, we will expand the area of national forests to 28.3% (1.79 million hectares) of the total forest area in Korea to secure the public functions of forests and contribute to the welfare of the people.”

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