<기사제목>Forest Service Conducts Special Joint Crackdown on Illegal Sales of Wild Ginseng

Provided by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service will conduct a special joint crackdown to eradicate the illegal sale of wild ginseng.

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 15th, the joint crackdown will be carried out from the 16th to the 23rd, with the Korea Forest Service, Korea Forestry Promotion Institute, and local governments nationwide jointly inspecting illegal activities mainly in major wild ginseng production and sales areas.

In particular, the Korea Forest Service and others plan to focus on cracking down on acts such as selling wild ginseng without attaching a quality inspection certificate or deceptively selling Chinese ginseng or cultivated ginseng as wild ginseng.

The "Act on the Promotion of Forestry and Mountain Villages" stipulates that those who sell wild ginseng without undergoing quality inspection shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

A Korea Forest Service official said, "Wild ginseng is designated as a specially managed forest product," and added, "The crackdown will be conducted with a focus on systematically managing the distribution and sales sites of wild ginseng to protect public health and ensure honest producers are protected."