Korea Classified as Low-Risk Country in EU Deforestation Regulation Assessment

[Financial News] The Korea Forest Service announced on the 27th that the European Union (EU) classified Korea as a low-risk country in the country-specific risk rating of the 'EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)' announced on the 22nd (local time).
 In this announcement, 140 countries, including our country, were classified as low-risk countries, while 4 countries (North Korea, Russia, Belarus, Myanmar) were classified as high-risk countries, and other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia were classified as standard-risk countries.
 The EUDR mandates that businesses intending to distribute seven items and their derivatives, such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, rubber, and timber, within the EU must submit due diligence reports verifying that the production of these products is unrelated to deforestation and forest degradation, starting from December 30 this year.
 In this evaluation, the EU considered the degree of deforestation, where forests are converted into agricultural land, as a major criterion for each country. Korea's designation as a low-risk country is an acknowledgment that the country's forests are systematically managed through sustainable forest management.
 According to the regulation, when EUDR-applied products produced from low-risk countries are imported into the EU, 1% of the total annual volume is subject to inspection by authorities, and businesses within the EU importing these products are exempt from implementing risk assessment and mitigation measures, thus bearing simplified due diligence obligations.
 However, even low-risk countries must provide information proving that EUDR-applied products exported to the EU are legally produced and unrelated to deforestation and degradation.
 Nam Song-hee, Director of International Forest Cooperation at the Korea Forest Service, said, "Our country's forest management activities, which involve reforestation after sustainable logging, will continue to be communicated to the EU as unrelated to forest degradation," adding, "We will monitor trends and consult with the industry to devise support measures to ensure that domestic companies exporting to the EU do not suffer disadvantages."
kwj5797@fnnews.com Kim Won-jun Reporter