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

[Financial News Hongseong=Reporter 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. The number of special control zones in the province will increase to four cities and counties, including Taean County, which was designated last month.
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 a system under which areas requiring the short-term concentration of surveillance and control capabilities are designated to prevent the rapid spread of forest pests and diseases. Including Taean County, the first area in South Chungcheong Province to be designated last month on the 5th, the number of special control zones in the province will increase to four cities and counties.
KFS is currently conducting the administrative public notice procedure 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 were made possible by the province’s proactive efforts to designate 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 undertaken various efforts to request expanded national funding and the designation of special control zones. On the 12th of last month, Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs Hong Jong-wan personally visited KFS Commissioner Park Eunsik to request active government support. On the 2nd of this month, Governor Park Soo-hyun held a phone consultation with Commissioner Park and again requested that the designation process be expedited and control funding expanded.
An official from South Chungcheong Province said, “The additional designation of these special control zones has laid the groundwork for significantly strengthening detailed surveillance and the rapid removal of dead trees damaged by the disease.” The official added, “We will secure as much support as possible from the government, including national funding, and pursue customized control operations optimized for the scale of damage and forest characteristics in each area.”
Pine wilt disease is an infectious disease in which nematodes measuring about 1 mm in size live on the bodies of vector insects such as the Japanese pine sawyer and the southern pine sawyer, then enter the interior of pine trees through wounds caused when the insects feed on new pine shoots. Once infected, a tree inevitably dries out and dies because the pathways that transport water and nutrients become blocked. Early detection and the immediate removal of infected trees are therefore considered key tasks in preserving forest ecosystems.
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter