Boryeong, Seocheon and Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province to Be Added as Special Control Zones for Pine Wilt Disease

[Financial News, Hongseong = Kim Won-jun] Boryeong-si, Seocheon County and Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong Province will be additionally designated as special control zones for pine wilt disease. Including Taean County, which was designated last month, the number of special control zones in South Chungcheong Province will increase to four cities and counties.
South Chungcheong Province announced on the 11th that the Korea Forest Service (KFS) had additionally designated Boryeong-si, Seocheon County and Cheongyang County as special control zones for pine wilt disease.
A special control zone is designated in an area where monitoring and control capabilities need to be concentrated over a short period to prevent the rapid spread of forest pests and diseases. Including Taean County, the first area in South Chungcheong Province to receive the designation on the 5th of last month, the number of special control zones in the province will increase to four cities and counties.
The KFS is currently conducting the administrative notice process for the additional designation of the three cities and counties. Once the designation process is completed on the 28th, South Chungcheong Province will be able to launch faster and more systematic control operations centered on the four cities and counties suffering the most severe damage.
The additional designations resulted from the province's proactive efforts to establish special control zones in areas where damage was concentrated, as pine wilt disease has recently shown signs of a third major outbreak.
South Chungcheong Province had previously pursued various initiatives to secure expanded national funding and the designation of special control zones. On the 12th of last month, Hong Jong-wan, the province's administrative vice governor, personally visited KFS chief Park Eunsik to request active support from the government. On September 2, Governor Park Soo-hyun also held a phone consultation with Park Eunsik and again called for the designation process to be accelerated and control funding to be increased.
An official from South Chungcheong Province said, "The additional designation of special control zones has laid the groundwork for significantly strengthening precise monitoring and the rapid removal of damaged and dead trees. We will secure as much support as possible from the government, including national funding, and pursue customized control measures optimized for the scale of damage and forest characteristics in each area."
Pine wilt disease is an infectious disease in which nematodes measuring approximately 1 mm live on the bodies of vector insects, such as Monochamus alternatus and the southern pine sawyer, and enter pine trees through wounds caused when the insects feed on new pine shoots. Once infected, a tree's water and nutrient pathways become blocked, causing it to dry out and die in 100% of cases. Early detection and the immediate removal of infected trees are therefore considered key tasks in preserving forest ecosystems.
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter