The Korea Forest Service said on the 13th it will carry out a special crackdown on indiscriminate tree damage and illegal harvesting of forest products that have recently been occurring.
According to the Korea Forest Service, courts have recently been handing down strong punishments for acts that destroy forest ecosystems. On the 26th of last month, the Jeju panel of the Gwangju High Court sentenced a man in his 50s, identified as A, to two years in prison for stripping about 7 tons of bark from more than 400 magnolia trees in another person's forest land without permission and selling it to a food company.
Amid this tough stance, the Korea Forest Service is making every effort to apprehend the suspect in the "damage to marple trees on Hambaksan in Taebaek, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province," which occurred on May 20.
A joint on-site investigation by the Taebaek National Forest Management Office and the Taebaeksan National Park Office confirmed that a person believed to be a man in his 60s used a chainsaw to illegally fell 89 marple trees, decades old (54 in the national park, 35 in national forest), and removed their bark in the Hyeoldong and Sodo-dong areas (including the Baekdudaegan Protected Area).
After an on-site investigation, the Korea Forest Service filed a complaint with the Taebaek Police Station on June 30 over the case and installed a banner at the site asking for tips. The Korea Forest Service plans to closely cooperate with investigative agencies and the Korea National Park Service to track down the perpetrator to the end.
Park Young-hwan, head of the Forest Environment Protection Division at the Korea Forest Service, said, "The destruction of forests that have been nurtured for decades in a moment of selfishness is a massive national loss," and added, "We must recognize that forest destruction is a serious crime subject to severe punishment. If you witness damage, please report it proactively to protect our precious forests."