Democratic lawmaker introduces bill to curb speculative trading in private forests

Rep. Yoon Jun-byeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee and represents Jeongeup and Gochang-gun in North Jeolla Province, said Tuesday he had introduced a bill to eliminate speculative practices in which investors acquire protected forestland cheaply at auction and resell it to the government through its private forest purchase program for a quick profit.

Under current law, the central government and local authorities may buy privately owned forestland — including protected forest zones — that meets certain criteria, using public funds to enhance forests' public benefits and improve the management of state-owned forests. The private forest purchase system is a key national policy for forest protection and ecosystem conservation.

In recent years, concerns have mounted in real estate auction markets and parts of the forestry sector that the system is being exploited for speculative gain. Speculators and some real estate investment operators acquire protected forestland — land that cannot be developed — at low prices through auctions, then apply to the government's private forest purchase program on the grounds that the land serves a public purpose, pocketing large short-term profits in the process.

Such practices drain limited public funds and waste the budget, while also shutting out law-abiding forest owners who legitimately need the government to buy their land for conservation purposes. Criticism is also growing that the scheme turns national policy into a vehicle for private gain, undermining fairness.

The amendment would allow the Korea Forest Service chief to restrict eligibility for the government's forest purchase program based on how the land was acquired and how long it has been held, with detailed criteria to be set by presidential decree. The measure is intended to block speculative transactions in which land is acquired cheaply at auction and immediately submitted for government purchase, strengthening the public integrity and credibility of the private forest purchase system.

"The private forest purchase system is a national policy designed to enhance forests' public benefits and preserve ecosystems — it is absolutely unacceptable for some speculators to exploit it for enormous profits," Yoon said. "We must put the system on the right footing so that public funds meant for forest conservation do not become prey for speculators. This amendment is the minimum necessary step to uphold the original purpose of the system — forest conservation and the promotion of the public good — and to ensure that law-abiding forest owners receive the fair opportunities they deserve."