Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police, Intensive Crackdown on Illegal Forestry Activities

Illegal Forestry Activities Crackdown Poster in Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province is cracking down on illegal forest damage.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare announced on the 5th that it will conduct intensive inspections of illegal damage to forests within the province from the 10th to the 21st of this month.

The province previously identified suspected areas of illegal damage through comparison of aerial photographs and other methods.

The province will target these areas to crack down on ▲ unauthorized alteration of mountain terrain ▲ installation of containers, structures, or livestock facilities without permission ▲ unauthorized logging or extraction of trees or forest products without permission or reporting ▲ use of land for purposes other than approved without change-of-use approval.

For illegal activities detected during the crackdown, the province plans to request administrative action from the relevant local governments and refer cases to the prosecution.

In the Gyeonggi area, an average of 111.5 hectares (1.115 km²) of forest has been lost annually due to illegal activities over the past three years.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare, stated, "We will do our best to proactively respond to illegal forest damage to preserve and protect healthy forests, which are valuable assets to the residents."