Minister Choi Byeong-am of Korea Forest Service (KFS). (Photos: KFS)

Minister Choi Byeong-am of Korea Forest Service (KFS) delivered his inaugural speech in which he pledged to realize carbon neutrality in the forest sector.

Minister Choi took office as the 33rd minister of KFS at the Central Forest Disaster Situation Room on March 29. His inauguration ceremony was held online with about 50 heads of forestry sector associations and related entities in attendance.

The participants pledged to do their utmost to prevent forest fires and realize carbon neutrality in the forest sector.

In his inaugural speech, Minister Choi disclosed his mission to successfully implement five top policy tasks – realizing carbon neutrality through forests; thoroughly coping with forest disasters; implementing “Forest New Deal” policies for people and forest industry people; expanding forest welfare policies for the post-COVID-19 pandemic era; and raising forests’ humanities and cultural values.

During the event, KFS announced major steps to prevent forest fires. The organization and participants pledged to prevent forest fires.

About 620 forest fires hit the nation last year, spewing some 265,000 tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Preventing forest fires is designed not only to secure the safety of people, but also to contribute to carbon neutrality.

Preventing forest fires, which are occurring more frequently, requires public concern and efforts. Forty-three forest associations and related bodies joined forces in spreading awareness toward the prevention of forest fires.

KFS, a ministry dealing with fire disasters, set between March 13 and April 18 as a special period in which special steps were taken to prevent large spring forest fires.

One hundred and eighty-two forest fire-fighting helicopters are ready for mobilization, and about 21,000 people are on standby to extinguish forest fires with a focus on the forest fire counter-measure center.

KFS Minister Choi urged the participating forest association and related entry heads to join forces in a nationwide drive to spread awareness toward the prevention of forest fires.

Minister Choi Byeong-am of Korea Forest Service (KFS) pledges his determination to prevent forest fires and realize carbon neutrality in the forest sector as he took office as the 33rd minister of KFS at the Central Forest Disaster Situation Room on March 29.

15th World Forest Congress Takes Place in May 2022

The 15th World Forest Congress, temporarily put off due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place at COEX in Seoul from May 2 through May 6, 2022.

The World Forest Congress, taking place every six years, is the largest international convention in the forest sector. Korea won the right to host the 15th World Forest Congress. The congress, which was originally scheduled to this May, was postponed due to the spread of the pandemic.

As the schedule of the 15th Word Forest Congress is reset, KFS has been rechecking its preparations it has made so far. KFS strives to host the upcoming World Forest Congress seamlessly by establishing its preparation plans in a systematic fashion.

Thesis, posters, video abstracts, and side event applications will be put off in accordance with the rescheduling of the World Forest Congress. Applications are to be made for about two months from April. Details can be found at the official site of the 15th World Forest Congress (wfc2021korea.org).

Dir.-Gen. Park Eun-shik, with the World Forest Congress Secretariat, said, “The World Forest Congress is the most important event in the forest sector with about 160 countries around the world in attendance, and hosting it successfully will serve as a good opportunity to raise its national standing and ramp up its diplomacy in the forest field.” He called for people to pay more concern so that the Congress can be held successfully.