South Korea forest technician certification fraud uncovered

An audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that roughly 40% of forest technicians registered with South Korean forest corporations were not employed full‑time and were suspected of illegally lending or misusing their certification. Of the 16,970 technicians listed from 2023 to May 2026, 6,749 were flagged for possible illicit certificate rentals, including 184 individuals who were deceased or incarcerated yet remained on corporate registers and continued receiving salaries.

The audit also found that many forest corporations had incomplete or incorrect business registration information. Following earlier media reports, President Lee Jae‑myung had criticised the lack of oversight, prompting the Forest Ministry to create a task force aimed at a comprehensive investigation and normalization of forest‑corporate operations.