Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
More than 660,000 pine trees with wilt disease went untreated in South Korea
South Korea recorded about 1.77 million pine trees infected with pine wilt disease in 2026.
The disease can kill pine trees, and officials say infected trees need treatment to limit its spread.
Authorities treated 62.7% of the infected trees, leaving about 661,500 untreated in forests.
Compared with 2025, infections rose by 19.3%, while the number of infected trees treated fell by 16.4%.
The national forestry agency’s control budget was almost unchanged, and funding for four main control programs did not increase.
Most infected trees were in forests managed by local governments, whose treatment rate was far below the rate in forests managed directly by the agency.
A lawmaker called for more funding and specialist staff for local governments, but no decision on those proposals is stated.
South Korea left 661,513 pine trees infected with pine wilt disease untreated in 2026, according to data from the Korea Forest Service.
The untreated trees made up 37.3% of the 1,772,985 infected trees recorded that year.
The treatment rate fell to 62.7%, down from 89.4% in 2025.
The number of infected trees rose by 19.3% from the previous year, while the number treated fell by 16.4%.
Lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong called for more funding and expert support for local governments responsible for most affected forests.
- Who
- The Korea Forest Service and local governments are responsible for managing treatment. Lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong raised concerns about the figures.
- What
- 661,513 pine trees infected with pine wilt disease were left untreated in 2026.
- When
- The figures are for 2026 and were reported on October 20, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- The article says treatment did not keep pace with the increase in infected trees, while the national budget was nearly unchanged and local governments faced capacity limits.
Lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong
Korea Forest Service
Treatment shortfall
Lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong
Yoon said the untreated trees could threaten forests and urged major funding increases and more support for local governments.
Korea Forest Service
The article says the agency pointed to an increase in overall treatment results, but does not give its response to Yoon’s criticism.
Funding and responsibility
Lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong
Yoon said local governments lacked enough dedicated staff and should receive emergency funds and expert personnel.
Korea Forest Service
The article reports that the 2026 national budget rose only 0.05% from 2025 and that four major treatment programs received no increase.
The number of infected trees was about 890,000.
The number of infected trees rose to about 1.48 million, up 65.3% from 2024, while the treatment rate was 89.4%.
The number of infected trees reached 1,772,985, and 1,111,472 were treated, leaving 661,513 untreated.
Yonhap reported the figures and lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong called for more funding and personnel to support treatment.
- Infected trees in 2026
- 1,772,985
- Treated trees in 2026
- 1,111,472
- Untreated trees in 2026
- 661,513
- Treatment rate
- 62.7% in 2026; 89.4% in 2025
- National budget
- 1,008.41 billion won in 2026, up 0.05% from 2025
- Local-government forest treatment rate
- 61.9%, compared with 99.9% for forests directly managed by the Korea Forest Service
1 source
What people are saying
The 660,000 infected trees left untreated this year could become a time bomb that devastates forests next year.