DAEJEON — Government bodies and public agencies in the forestry sector will be able to receive domestic timber free of charge for research and development and other uses.
The Korea Forest Service said the revised Act on the Management of National Forests took effect on the 22nd, establishing a legal basis to expand the use of domestically produced timber and foster the wood industry.
Under the revised law, government bodies and forestry-sector public agencies can receive domestic timber at no cost for purposes including research and development on timber construction and demonstration projects for wood buildings.
The Korea Forest Service revised the national forest law in April this year to promote the use of domestic timber as a carbon store, as part of its forestry-sector strategy for meeting the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
"By expanding the use of domestic timber in the public sector first, we will drive demand for domestically produced wood," Korea Forest Service Administrator Park Eun-sik said. "We will actively pursue institutional support so that this contributes not only to the wood industry but also to meeting the national greenhouse gas reduction target."