The Korea Forest Service announced Thursday that it will undertake a major overhaul of its pine wilt disease control policy based on field feedback to mount a full-scale response to the disease and preemptively eliminate risk factors threatening public safety.
The agency held a "Pine Wilt Disease Damage Management Countermeasures Meeting" at the Daejeon Government Complex on the same day. Approximately 150 experts participated, including representatives from affected local governments, the National Institute of Forest Science, regional forest services, and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute.
Officials from 59 cities, counties, and districts—ranging from "severely affected" to "mildly affected" areas—attended the meeting, pledging thorough control measures to halt the spread of pine wilt disease. They shared field-level challenges and discussed effective management strategies.
The Forest Service particularly emphasized to local governments the priority removal of hazardous trees in residential areas near homes and roadsides that pose risks to public safety and property. These include infected trees that have been standing for more than two years or those at risk of falling due to strong winds or heavy rainfall.
To address this, the agency plans to revise its pine wilt disease control guidelines by April. The revision will allow immediate removal of hazardous trees outside the regular control period, departing from the current policy that permits felling of infected trees only during designated control periods.
Additionally, to eliminate blind spots in disease control, the agency will manage cases of missed surveillance trees through the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute. It has also issued detailed infected tree management guidelines to local governments based on pine wilt disease occurrence survey results.
"Flexible and practical policies that reflect voices from the field are paramount to achieving results in pine wilt disease control," said Lee Yong-kwon, Director of Forest Disaster Control at the Korea Forest Service. "We will concentrate all our capabilities on safeguarding public safety through preemptive responses to alleviate public concerns about pine wilt disease damage."