(Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jun-ho = The Korea Forest Service announced on the 9th that it will strengthen the distribution management of wild ginseng in traditional markets and online until the 14th ahead of the Lunar New Year. In the online sector, they plan to conduct automatic and manual checks, periodically confirming registered product information, and utilizing optical character recognition (OCR) technology to verify the appropriateness of quality inspection certificates. Suspected products will be collected to check quality labeling, and systematic management including residual pesticide testing will be promoted. Wild ginseng is a special managed forestry product with a complete record of its entire production process from cultivation to harvest, and it is mandatory to display whether it has passed the quality inspection and other related quality information when it is distributed and sold. It is prohibited to display or advertise products as wild ginseng if they are not. An official from the Korea Forest Service said, "As the demand for gifts increases around the Lunar New Year, there is concern about the use of fraudulent quality inspection certificates, so consumers need to pay special attention" and "When purchasing wild ginseng, one must confirm the presence of a quality inspection certificate and the accuracy of the information on it." kjunho@yna.co.kr