Timber Risk Score: 88 / 100 in 2017. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in Republic of Korea for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:
- Specified risk for 2 sub-categories.
- Low risk for 15 sub-categories.
- No legal requirements for 4 sub-categories.
This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in the Republic of Korea.
63.5% (6.18 million ha) of the Republic of Korea is covered by forests of which:
- About 10% is primary forest
- About 71% is naturally-regenerated forest
- About 19% is planted forest
Roundwood production totalled 5.18 million m3 in 2015. The forestry sector (including wood processing and pulp and paper) contributed US$ 8.2 billion to the economy in 2011, or nearly 0.8% of the GDP.
Risk is present in Korean timber supply chains. The risks relate to timber harvesting activities. If you are sourcing timber from the Republic of Korea you should take care to ensure the risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated.
This risk assessment was prepared between 2015-2018 according to the FSC-STD-40-005. The approved FSC Risk Assessment can be downloaded in the FSC Document Centre. ONLY Risk Assessments that have been formally reviewed and approved by FSC can be used by an FSC candidate or certified companies in risk assessments and will meet the FSC standards without further verification.
Score: 61 / 100 in 2020
Rank: 33 out of 180 countries in 2020
There are currently no armed conflicts in the Republic of Korea according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker
According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program there were 4 deaths in 2010-2019
CITES appendix II: Taxus cuspidata.
FSC Certified Forest Area: 36,448 hectares (3 January 2019)
PEFC Certified Forest Area: 452,343 hectares (31 December 2019).
Information Gathering
Timber sources
- Find out the different sources of legal timber
- Determine which source type your timber comes from
Timber source | Description of source type |
---|---|
National forest |
Timber from national forests, managed by the Korea Forest Service. |
Public forest |
Timber from public forests, managed by local governments. |
Private forest | Timber from private forests, managed by private entities, sometimes supported by the Forestry Cooperative Federation if owners are members |
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment summary
Legal rights to harvest
|
No specified risks identified. See full risk assessment for details’ |
Taxes and fees
|
No specified risks identified. See full risk assessment for details’ |
Timber harvesting activities
|
|
Third parties' rights
|
No specified risks identified. See full risk assessment for details’ |
Trade and transport
|
No specified risks identified. See full risk assessment for details’ |
Risk Mitigation
Mitigate the risks in your supply chain
Learn which actions we recommended to mitigate the risks associated with the timber sources from the Republic of Korea.
Source Certified Materials
NEPCon believes that third party certification (for example FSC and PEFC certification) can provide strong assurances of the legality of the products they cover. Companies seeking to mitigate the risks of sourcing illegal timber should seek to purchase third party certified materials wherever possible.
While the European Timber Regulation does not include an automatic “green lane” for certified products, it does recognise the value of certification as a tool for risk assessment and mitigation. The European Commission says that companies “may rate credibly certified products as having negligible risk of being illegal, i.e. suitable for placing on the market with no further risk mitigation measures, provided that the rest of the information gathered and the replies to the risk assessment questions do not contradict such a conclusion.”
For more information on using certified materials in your due diligence, including how to assess whether a certification system meets EUTR requirements, see the page on Certification and Due Diligence.
Mitigation recommendations
Below is a summary of our recommended actions to mitigate the risks associated with timber sources from Republic of Korea.
1. Fully map your supply chain
- Our supply chain mapping tool can help you do this.
2. Obtain and verify documents
- Health and safety and employment related documents:
- Insurance information for the company
- The Payment Certificate for the 4 major insurances (national pension, national health, employment, and industrial accident compensation) from the company for all employees
- Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)): http://msds.kosha.or.kr
- Records of Industrial Accidents Occurrences (Questionnaire on Industrial Accidents)
- Confirmation of Education for Operation
- Training records that document training for all applicable staff
- Reports of safety inspections by government officials
3. Consult stakeholders
- The Labour Agency confirms insurance information and payments
4. Conduct targeted timber testing
Conduct timber testing on samples of purchased material to verify the species or origin of timber, where appropriate.