"We Are All Going to Die Here" Amid Emergency… Issues Holding Back Response

[Anchor]

The rapid spread of pine wilt disease, which causes pine trees to wither and die, is alarming. In North Jeolla Province alone, the number of pine trees infected with the pine wood nematode has multiplied eightfold over the past four years. Although designated as a special control zone to enable a swift response, a shortage of budget and manpower is holding back efforts.

Reporter Kim Jin-hyung from JTV.

[Reporter]

This is a park in downtown Iksan.

The pine needles have turned red, resembling autumn foliage.

They have withered and died after being infected with pine wilt disease, often called "cancer for pine trees."

The damage area from pine wilt disease in Iksan alone reaches 45,000 hectares.

The disease has spread to the entire city, excluding some areas of Dongsan-dong and Yeosan-myeon.

Although Iksan was designated as a "pine wilt-clean zone" in 2009, the disease has been spreading at an even faster rate since its reemergence in 2016.

In North Jeolla Province, the number of pine trees infected with the pine wood nematode surged about eightfold, from 2,110 trees in 2022 to approximately 16,490 trees currently.

As pine wilt disease spreads rapidly, the Korea Forest Service designated Iksan, Jeongeup, and Gimje as "special control zones" for the first time in North Jeolla Province.

Being designated as a special control zone allows for control operations to be conducted regardless of the season, and infected pine trees can be cut down immediately without the owner's consent, enabling a more prompt and flexible response.

Jeonbuk State plans to remove infected or vulnerable trees and convert them to tree species resistant to pine wilt disease.

However, workers in the field are complaining of a shortage of budget and manpower.

The budget allocated for pine wilt disease control in these regions this year is 5.7 billion won.

While treating infected trees costs around 6 million won per hectare, the allocated budget stands at only 4.6 million won, falling far short of what is needed.

A lack of manpower and expertise is also pointed out as a problem.

[Interview | Official at Local Government Responsible for Special Control Zone: Currently, about 1.5 people are in charge, and we cannot hire additional staff, so we have to flexibly absorb it within the existing organization....]

If the rapidly spreading pine wilt disease is not contained early, a mass die-off of pine trees across the province will be inevitable.

Expanding field manpower and reinforcing the budget to prevent the spread of pine wilt disease remain urgent tasks.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

(Video by Kwon Man-taek | JTV)

Kim Jin-hyung, JTV
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.