Korea Forest Service Catches 363 People for Illegal Damage to National Forests... "Arrests and Fines Imposed"

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 26th that it has identified 363 individuals who damaged forests through illegal activities in national forests this year and has either filed charges or imposed fines depending on the severity of the cases.

The Special Forest Judicial Police are conducting crackdowns on illegal activities using drones in the forests around Ulju-gun, Ulsan. Photo provided by the Korea Forest Service.

The main types of violations detected include unauthorized alteration of forest land for other uses (illegal forest land conversion), illegal harvesting of forest products, lighting fires in forests, and unauthorized entry into restricted forest areas.

For example, Mr. A was fined 8 million KRW for illegally damaging 1,000㎡ of forest land. Mr. B was charged for unauthorized cutting of standing timber over 134㎡ for firewood collection, and Mr. C was charged for causing a forest fire by burning trash.

Among the total individuals caught, 151 were charged, and fines totaling 24 million KRW were imposed on 212 people.

Illegal conversion of forest land or harvesting forest products without the landowner’s consent can result in imprisonment for up to 5 years or fines up to 50 million KRW.

Additionally, unauthorized entry into restricted forest areas or lighting fires in forests are subject to fines of 100,000 KRW and 300,000 KRW respectively.

Separately, in specially protected forest areas such as the Baekdudaegan Protection Area, which are designated and announced as requiring special protection, illegal forest land conversion or unauthorized logging can lead to harsher penalties, including imprisonment for up to 7 years or fines up to 70 million KRW.

Kim Ki-hyun, Director of the Forest Environment Protection Division at the Korea Forest Service, stated, “Restoring damaged forests requires significant time and cost. The Korea Forest Service will continue to work to prevent forest damage caused by illegal activities and maintain a healthy forest environment.”

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