Kim Gwang-yeol, Yeongdeok County Governor, On-site Inspection of Pine Wilt Disease Control Project Site

Full-Scale Pine Wilt Nematode Control Begins to Protect Songisan Mountain

Kim Kwang-yeol, the governor of Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk, conducted an on-site inspection of pine wilt disease control in Seongnae-ri, Yeonghae-myeon on the 12th to closely check the progress of pine wood nematode control work and the control plan for the second half of this year.

Kim Kwang-yeol, Yeongdeok County Governor, inspecting the site of the pine wilt disease control project. Photo by Yeongdeok County.

Yeongdeok-gun is widely known for its image as a marine resort area including Yeongdeok Snow Crab, but 81% of its area is covered by dense forests, achieving the nation's number one natural pine mushroom production for 13 consecutive years.

These natural pine mushrooms are a major specialty of Yeongdeok-gun, and the county has established and is implementing a strong pine wood nematode control plan this fall to protect pine mushrooms and pine forests, which are important resources driving the local economy.

Yeongdeok-gun has established a master plan for large-scale control timed for this fall and formed a specialized control team of 95 members composed of both public and private sectors to carry out comprehensive control operations.

Additionally, the county plans to invest a budget of about 6.9 billion KRW, including 1 billion KRW from the county's contingency fund, until March next year when the vector insects of pine wood nematode emerge, to eradicate the vector insects and prevent the spread of the nematode disease with full efforts.

Governor Kim paid special attention to severely affected areas such as Yeonghae-myeon, Chuksan-myeon, and Changsuh-myeon, especially the coastal section from Gyeongjeong-ri in Chuksan-myeon to Daejin-ri in Yeonghae-myeon and the Route 7 section where the spread is rapid, and plans to conduct additional inspections going forward.

Governor Kim Kwang-yeol said, “Our forests are an indispensable resource for the future value and sustainability of the region,” adding, “Through this inspection, we will derive additional measures to improve control efficiency and mobilize all administrative power to achieve complete eradication of pine wood nematode disease.”