Korea Forest Service "Newly Confirmed and Addressed 166 Cases of Unauthorized Occupation of National Forests Covering Over 350,000㎡"

During a comprehensive investigation of unauthorized occupation of state-owned forests within national parks, 166 new cases of unauthorized occupation sites were identified.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 22nd that it conducted a comprehensive survey from June to September to identify new unauthorized occupation sites. The confirmed scale of unauthorized occupation sites reached 351,882㎡.

Provided by Korea Forest Service

Among the 166 unauthorized occupation sites detected in the investigation, 78 cases (47%) were used for agricultural purposes, and 58 cases (35%) were used for other purposes such as pensions, warehouses, and parking lots.

Until now, national parks have been managed by the Korea National Park Service responding to illegal activities under the 'Natural Parks Act,' but starting this year, the Korea Forest Service has stepped in to strengthen the management of state-owned forests within national parks by conducting special inspections.

The Korea Forest Service plans to encourage occupants of the identified unauthorized occupation sites to voluntarily relinquish their claims, while imposing compensation fees for unauthorized occupation, carrying out administrative enforcement (demolition), and taking judicial actions against illegal mountain land use changes.

Nam Sung-hyun, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, stated, “Unauthorized occupation of state-owned property for personal use and benefit must be eradicated,” and added, “Starting this year, the Korea Forest Service is strengthening the crackdown on unauthorized occupation of state-owned forests using aerial photographs and an artificial intelligence-based system to extract suspicious unauthorized occupation areas.”

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