625 Personal Geological Heritage Sites to Be Directly Managed by the State

Fossils of Paleozoic Trilobites and More

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 20th that 625 geological heritage items, preserved by institutions and individuals, will be transferred to the state and registered in the national management system.

Herbivorous Dinosaur Skeleton Fossil

Geological heritage must be managed by the state according to the "Act on the Protection and Investigation of Buried Cultural Heritage." However, due to improper procedures, cases of damage, loss, or concealment have frequently occurred.

To address this issue, the Cultural Heritage Administration has been promoting the "Geological Heritage Specimen Cataloging Project" since 2020. So far, 2,963 specimens have been transferred to the state. All are registered and managed through the "Geological Heritage Specimen Information Service" operated by the Cultural Heritage Administration.

This year, 625 specimens, including Paleozoic trilobite fossils, Mesozoic tree fern fossils, and insect fossils, preserved by fifteen institutions such as the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources Geological Museum and individuals, will be transferred to the state.

The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, "We continuously conduct field surveys and value assessments to protect geological heritage and are expanding the scope of state transfer projects," adding, "We will strengthen the preservation and management of geological heritage in cooperation with related academic societies and research institutions."