Seosamsok Proposes Amendment to the 'Forest Path Safety Measures Act' as Lead Sponsor

Rapid Increase in National Hiking and Trekking Accidents Despite Neglect
“Proposing Amendment to Ensure Safety on Public Forest Trails”

Assemblyman Seo Samsuk.

As the number of people enjoying hiking and trekking increases recently, safety accidents have also risen, prompting a legislative amendment to manage forest trails by dividing them into zones.

On the 15th, Seo Samsuk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Yeongam, Muan, and Sinan in Jeollanam-do), announced that he had introduced the "Forest Culture and Recreation Act Amendment" containing such provisions. This bill, reintroduced by Seo following the 21st National Assembly, is a legislative measure to ensure the safety of forest trails.

According to the Korea Forest Service, the number of citizens aged 19 to 79 who hike or trek at least once a month is 32.29 million, an increase of about 13.43 million (71%) compared to 18.86 million in 2008, when the statistics were first surveyed 16 years ago.

As the number of users increases, safety accidents are also becoming frequent. Over the five years from 2017 to 2022, there were 43,564 hiking accidents. In 2022 alone, there were 9,352 cases, an increase of 2,853 cases (44%) compared to 6,499 cases in the previous year. The most common type of accident was slips and falls, accounting for 36% with 15,837 cases, followed by getting lost with 10,777 cases, others with 9,954 cases, and personal illnesses with 6,996 cases. Additionally, there were 25,008 injuries and 564 deaths, with 90 deaths in 2022, an increase of 22 compared to 68 deaths the previous year.

However, management of forest trails is inadequate. Of the total 38,623 km of forest trails, 10% (3,835 km) are national forest trails managed by 14 staff members at the Korea Hiking and Trekking Support Center, each responsible for 273 km. The remaining 90%, or 34,788 km of local forest trails, have no personnel responsible for safety, restoration, or maintenance.

The amendment allows local forest service chiefs and local government heads to hire managers to inspect the safety status of forest trails, prevent damage and pollution, carry out restoration, and support mountain rescue team activities.

Representative Seo explained the purpose of the bill, saying, "As the number of forest trail users increases, the government should do its best to prepare safety measures, but it has been neglecting this due to budget reasons. This amendment was proposed to guarantee the safety of citizens from forest trail accidents."

Meanwhile, in addition to the "Forest Culture and Recreation Act Amendment," Seo also introduced two other amendment bills. The "Agricultural Cooperative Act Amendment" raises the asset size threshold of agricultural cooperatives subject to sales ratio regulations for Nonghyup insurance products from the current 2 trillion won to 5 trillion won, aiming to minimize restrictions on members' service use.

Also, the "Plant Quarantine Act Amendment" stipulates that managers of airport and port facilities must mandatorily provide quarantine information to users due to the increase in prohibited plant imports, and establishes a legal basis for heads of plant quarantine agencies to conduct plant quarantine education for passengers and crew members with ship and aircraft operators.