Nearly 40% of Forestry Technicians Suspected of Illegally Lending or Misusing Qualifications

An audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection has revealed that around 40% of registered forestry technicians in South Korea are suspected of illegally lending their qualifications or having them misused. The audit, covering May 2023 to May 2026, identified 6,749 technicians across 1,663 forestry firms who may be involved in such practices.

Under the Forestry Resources Act, forestry firms must meet technician requirements and register with provincial governments. Technicians are mandated to work full-time for the registered firm. Violations can lead to the cancellation of qualifications for technicians and revocation of registration for firms. However, the audit suggests a widespread issue, with nearly 40% of technicians not working full-time, potentially lending their credentials or having them used without authorization.

The audit analyzed employment insurance enrollment and income tax data to identify potential offenders. The largest group, 4,307 individuals, showed employment insurance and income tax records but had monthly incomes below 800,000 won, suggesting they might not be working full-time and could be receiving fees for lending their licenses. Alarmingly, 184 technicians were found to be registered with firms even after their deaths or while incarcerated.

Specifically, 47 technicians remained registered for over three months after their death registration, with nine even being newly registered after their death. One forestry firm representative was found to have operated four firms using the names of deceased relatives and associates, registering a technician who died in 2018 and then processing their resignation the following year. Another technician was registered with a firm for two years while serving a prison sentence, receiving a monthly salary.

Oversight by the Korea Forest Service has also been criticized as lax. The audit found that 77% of registered forestry firms had missing or incorrect business registration numbers in the system. These findings come after media reports on the issue and President Lee Jae-myung's criticism of the government's delayed response to such problems. In response, the Korea Forest Service has established a task force to conduct a comprehensive investigation into forestry business entities.

“

Why is it that such problems are only discovered after the media or opposition lawmakers request data?