The Forestry Agency eases restrictions on tree felling · Expects to prevent wildfire damage

A system improvement to allow the felling of trees without permission or notification in forests near buildings is being pushed. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 23rd that the revision of the 'Forest Resources Act Enforcement Decree', which allows the felling of trees within a certain range without permission or notification in adjacent forests of buildings to prevent damage when forest fires occur, was passed at the 55th Cabinet meeting. This revision is a measure taken due to the identification that trees adjacent to buildings cause increased human and property damage when forest fires occur. Indeed, a large forest fire that occurred in the Yeongnam region in 2025 resulted in the destruction of 3,878 buildings, causing massive damage. So far, according to current laws, to remove trees, one had to obtain felling permission from related agencies or go through a notification process, and this process was burdensome in terms of time and cost, ...