Korea Forest Service to Purchase 724ha of Private Forests through 'Mountain Pension Model'

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 18th that it will invest a total budget of 10.1 billion KRW this year in the mountain pension-type private forest purchase project, acquiring 742 hectares of private forest.

The mountain pension-type private forest purchase project is a system where the forest owner is paid the purchase price divided monthly over 10 years (120 months). It was piloted in 2021 and has been fully implemented since the following year.

Since the initial operation of the system, the Korea Forest Service has collected field opinions and improved issues that arose during implementation. Representative examples include abolishing the purchase standard unit price and increasing the advance payment amount to up to 40% of the total.

Additionally, it was made possible to purchase mountain areas up to 29 hectares with up to 4 co-owners, and for areas of 30 hectares or more, purchase is allowed regardless of co-ownership shares.

The purchase targets are ‘public interest forests’ where development activities are restricted, as well as ‘living area forests’ that can be utilized as urban forests or community forests.

For more detailed information regarding private forest sale applications and purchase price determination, please check with the local national forest management office that has jurisdiction over the forest land subject to sale.

Park Eun-sik, Director of the Forest Industry Policy Bureau at the Korea Forest Service, stated, “The Korea Forest Service plans to expand the proportion of national forests to 28.3% by 2028,” adding, “The acquired national forests will be classified by function such as forest ecosystem conservation and forest recreation promotion, and will be used to improve the quality of life for the public through systematic management and operation.”