DAEJEON — Foresters will find it easier to grow and harvest forest products on mountain land under a set of deregulation measures.
The Korea Forest Service said on the 27th that the National Assembly passed revisions to the Mountainous Districts Management Act, the Stone Industry Promotion Act and the Act on the Creation and Promotion of Arboretums and Gardens at a plenary session on the 26th. The revisions are aimed at supporting forestry operations, speeding up disaster recovery, invigorating the stone industry and expanding garden infrastructure.
Under the revised Mountainous Districts Management Act, planting or digging up forest products will no longer be classified as conversion of mountain land. Until now, any work that altered the land by 50 centimeters or more during cultivation counted as land conversion and had to be reported. Going forward, core forestry activities that keep the shape of the land intact can be carried out without notification, a change the agency expects to spur forest management by foresters.
The revision also introduces a temporary-use system for mountain land that allows certain minor activities, such as urgent disaster recovery, to proceed without a permit or notification. The agency expects the change to ease the burden on foresters and allow emergency recovery work to be carried out in a timely manner.
In the stone industry, the "certification" system for leading stone businesses and traditional stone products will be simplified into a "selection" system. The revision also establishes grounds for hearings before adverse measures such as cancellation of registration or selection, improving transparency in the process.
For arboretums and gardens, the education and recreation of "out-of-school youth" has been added to the purposes of educational gardens, so that young people not enrolled in school are not excluded from the education programs, hands-on activities and healing services that arboretums and gardens provide.
The revision also creates a legal basis for providing financial support not only for national gardens but also for the creation and operation of local and private gardens.
"I hope the revisions will benefit foresters, the stone industry and all citizens who use gardens," Korea Forest Service Minister Park Eun-sik said.
