Government calls for halt to 'distrust-stoking' news on forest pest policy

Domestic forestry experts have spoken with one voice in response to online news reports about an eco-friendly treatment for pine wilt disease originating from China.

The Pine Wilt Disease Verification Advisory Panel, chaired by Professor Kim Dong-soon, held a briefing at the press room of the Government Daejeon Complex on Tuesday to address the accuracy of recent media reports on the disease.

At the briefing, the panel said the Korea Forest Service has been jointly conducting efficacy verification of a natural enemy fungus (Esteya vermicola) — claimed to prevent and treat pine wilt disease — at the request of the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy since January. The panel added that 10 experts, including professors in relevant fields, have been appointed as verification advisers and are participating throughout the entire testing process.

Kim, who chairs the verification advisory panel for the joint research, explained the facts surrounding key issues raised during the joint research process, saying the public has a right to accurate information.

Kim said the panel convened a verification advisory meeting at the Gokseong-gun office on Aug. 28 to discuss key issues that had arisen during the joint research. Officials from the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy and the Korea Forest Service attended, along with six advisory panel members including Kim himself and Choi Byeong-seong, a pastor and representative, who participated as an observer. Kim said the meeting concluded with the unanimous agreement of all panel members present, reaching the following conclusions.

▶ On the claim that "30,000 pine wood nematodes were initially injected per tree, but a count three days later showed the number had risen to 80,000": the panel concluded that an increase in nematode numbers over time can be explained as a natural phenomenon — including egg-laying and hatching — and that the number of nematodes is not a significant variable in assessing control effectiveness.

▶ On the claim that "both test sites — Gokseong, which is subject to moisture stress from forest roads and thinning operations, and Jinju, where weakened trees were selected — are unsuitable": the panel said trees were pre-screened for abnormalities through resin flow tests before treatment began. The test sites were provided by the Korea Forest Service and finalized after on-site confirmation by the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy and the advisory panel. The panel concluded that site conditions had no significant effect on the efficacy assessment.

Regarding the Chinese eco-friendly treatment "Lianfang 121," the panel said it met directly on Thursday with Yongxia Li, deputy director of a forestry research institute under China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and other researchers at the National Institute of Forest Science to confirm the following.

▶ On the claim that "China developed a pine wilt nematode treatment using a natural enemy fungus discovered in South Korea": "Lianfang 121" is a treatment developed independently by China. It is not a "cure" that treats and revives pine trees already dying from pine wilt disease; rather, it is being developed as a preventive agent against nematode infection.

The Fxy121 strain used in "Lianfang 121" was isolated from Yunnan pine in China's Yunnan Province, while the E. vermicola CNU 120806 strain studied by South Korean researchers was isolated separately from nematodes in Korean forest soil — the two are distinct strains.

▶ On the claim that "China has achieved results in preventing and controlling pine wilt disease through a shift to eco-friendly pest management": while pine wilt damage in China has been steadily declining, "Lianfang 121" is not currently an officially approved treatment in general pest control operations. It is still at the stage of confirming its effectiveness and applicability in the field through pilot projects.

▶ On the claim that "'Lianfang 121' has proven effective in trials covering about 50,000 mu": the actual area where "Lianfang 121" was used was confirmed to be more than 40,000 mu (about 2,667 hectares), but no evidence of proven "effectiveness" was presented. The approximately 50,000 mu (about 3,333 hectares) refers to the total area of a comprehensive pilot program applying multiple pine wilt control technologies — not an area where "Lianfang 121" was applied alone.

The panel acknowledged that the Chinese Society of Forestry established a group standard (T/CSF 0147-2026) in 2026 covering quality control and drone application methods, but said "Lianfang 121" has not yet been registered as an official pesticide with the Chinese government and that the registration process is currently underway. The panel stressed that a group standard does not mean the Chinese government has approved "Lianfang 121" as an official pesticide or nationally designated control agent.

One advisory panel member said the government has spent decades developing pine wilt disease policy through research and discussion with forestry experts, and called for an immediate end to what he described as "irresponsible conduct that misleads the public and deliberately distorts and attacks the government's forest policy."

The panel said it could not understand why the recent news reports were presenting matters already thoroughly discussed and assessed during the joint research verification process as grounds to question the credibility of the verification itself. Speaking in unison, the panel members said they held the briefing because they judged it necessary to accurately inform the public about what the advisory panel had reviewed and what conclusions it had reached.