The Korea Forestry Cooperatives Federation (NFCF) has marked 64 years of national reforestation work with a Seoul headquarters ceremony, presenting government commendations to cooperative heads and recognising top-performing regional cooperatives across the federation network. That is according to NFCF Chairman Choi Chang-ho, who opened the 15 May ceremony at the federation’s Songpa-gu headquarters and credited cooperative members with sustaining Korea’s six-decade reforestation effort.
The top honour of the day went to Jeong Deok-gyo, head of the Jinju City Forestry Cooperative, with the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit awarded in recognition of contributions to strengthening forestry industry competitiveness and advancing the wider national industry agenda. Kim Geun-seon, head of the Jeju City Forestry Cooperative, received the Industrial Service Medal at the same ceremony.
Speaking at the opening of the ceremony, Choi linked the federation’s awards programme directly to the cooperative network’s institutional purpose throughout its 64-year history. “We will work to enhance the rights and interests of our members,” Choi said.
Presidential Citations were awarded to Kwon Young-geon, head of the Okcheon-gun Forestry Cooperative, and to the Gongju City Forestry Cooperative as an institution, with Prime Minister’s Citations going to cooperative audit committee chairman Kang Seok-ju and Eastern Forestry Project Division head Lee Yong-beom. A further 34 executives and employees received commendations from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Commissioner of the Korea Forest Service and the NFCF Chairman.
The federation also recognised top-performing regional cooperatives based on its annual analysis of cooperative operations, with the Pyeongchang-gun Forestry Cooperative taking the Grand Prize ahead of Hadong-gun (Gold) and Boeun-gun (Silver). Bronze Prizes went to the Hoengseong-gun, Geumsan-gun and Danyang-gun Forestry Cooperatives.
Wood Central understands that South Korea remains one of the most cited post-war reforestation case studies in international forestry policy, having recovered from near-total forest loss across the post-Korean War decades to a current national forest cover exceeding 60 per cent. The NFCF has carried the cooperative side of the institutional load for that recovery work since the federation’s 1962 establishment.
It comes as the Korea Forest Service has used the 21st UN Forum on Forests in New York to push a formal proposal for an International Day of Sustainable Wood, with the federation network across South Korea forming the domestic delivery channel for any sustainable wood agenda the country pursues at UN level. The proposal was unveiled at a New York side event co-hosted by the Korea Forest Service, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Tropical Timber Organization.
The 64th anniversary ceremony closed at the federation’s Seoul headquarters on 15 May with the full slate of government commendations presented and the top-performing regional cooperatives named, with Choi committing the federation to enhancing member rights and re-establishing the NFCF as a forestry institution trusted by the Korean public.
