New System for Specialized Personnel and Businesses in "Forest Restoration" Introduced to Enhance Effectiveness

Institutional measures will be introduced to enhance expertise in the forest restoration process.

On January 7, the Korea Forest Service announced that it had partially amended the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion and Management of Forest Technology to improve the professionalism and efficiency of forest restoration projects. This move comes in response to increasing demand for forest restoration due to large-scale wildfires and landslides.

Provided by Korea Forest Service

The amendment to the Enforcement Decree focuses on reorganizing the system for professional forest technology personnel who will carry out forest restoration projects, as well as establishing a specialized system for the design and supervision of forest projects. This provides an institutional foundation for the scientific and systematic restoration of damaged forests.

Based on this, the Korea Forest Service will formally introduce the new position of "forest restoration engineer" to foster specialized personnel for forest restoration. Depending on their practical experience, forest restoration engineers will be classified as special-grade, advanced, intermediate, or basic. They will be responsible for site surveys, feasibility assessments, design, construction, and supervision of forest restoration projects.

In addition, a new category of "specialized forest restoration business" will be introduced as a type of forest technology service business responsible for the design and supervision of forest projects. The aim is to ensure that the design, supervision, and safety assessments of forest restoration projects are carried out by experts.

The amendment also includes changing the personnel assigned to the implementation, design, and supervision sites of forest restoration projects from the existing "forest engineering technician" to "forest restoration engineer," allowing specialized technical personnel suited to the characteristics of the project to be deployed on-site.

Son Sooncheol, Director of the Forest Ecological Restoration Division at the Korea Forest Service, stated, "With this amendment to the Enforcement Decree, we expect the specialized personnel and business systems for forest restoration to become established in the field, thereby further enhancing the professionalism and efficiency of forest restoration projects." He added, "The Korea Forest Service will continue to actively pursue sustainable forest restoration policies to respond to the climate crisis."