Investigation into the IUCN Red List in South Korea

6/14/20233 min read

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The following species in South Korea are included on the IUCN’s red list of threatened species:

Vulnerable: Korean arbor-vitae (thuja koraiensis), Strongylognathus koreanus, Samdohasuoh (fallopia koreana),

Endangered: Korean fir (abis koreana), Korean ladyslipper (cypripedium japonicum), Korean winter hazel (corylopsis coreana), Nolang butkkot (Iris koreana), Gaeneusam (sophora koreensis), Gadoseungma (Kirengeshoma palmata),

Critically endangered: Korean skate (hongeo koreana)

A number of legal instruments have been enacted for the conservation of threatened species.

In 2019, South Korea promulgated its 4th National Biodiversity Strategy (2019-2023) in order to fulfil its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) (The National Atlas of Korea c).

The Act on the Conservation and Use of Biological Diversity requires the formulation of policies to conserve ecosystems and endemic species, including research, surveys, and payment for ecosystem services (The National Atlas of Korea a).

The Wildlife Protection and Management Act compels the Minister of Environment to put in place master plans for wildlife conservation; specifically, Article 3 of the Wildlife Protection and Management Act stipulates that it is the responsibility of every individual and of government at every level to protect wildlife and ensure ecosystem balance:-

“Article 3 (Basic Principles of Protection and Use of Wildlife)

(1) The current generation shall recognize that wildlife is the common property of the current generation and future generations, and ensure that the benefits therefrom go to future generations by proactively protecting the natural habitats thereof.

(2) Each person shall strive to effectively protect wildlife habitats in order to prevent wildlife from becoming extinct and to ensure the equilibrium of the ecosystem.

(3) The State, local governments, and people shall use wildlife so as to ensure sustainability, so that the wildlife does not become extinct or that the biodiversity is not decreased.”

(Wildlife Protection and Management Act).

Several organizations have also been founded for the purpose of conserving threatened species.

In 2018, the National Endangered Species Restoration Center and the National Institute of Ecology were formed for the purpose of coordinating and overseeing studies of endangered species studies performed by individual Korean organizations (Do et al 2020).

The Korean National Arboretum and its affiliated agencies seek to protect biodiversity of threatened and rare plant species by way of local conservation endeavours, cultivating endangered plant species, and restoring natural habitats and ecosystems (The National Atlas of Korea b). The national government has also engaged in the breeding of various endangered species and designating a number of protected areas, and made headway in mainstreaming public awareness of biodiversity conservation (CBD 2014).

The impact of these actions on the conservation of such species appears to have been lacking in force and effect. In 2014, South Korea’s Fifth National Report to the CBD stated inter alia the following:

“Establishment of species and genetic resource database and promotion on endangered species restoration and research on their distributions. In late 2010, expansion in restoration and proliferation on 36 different species such as Asiatic black bear and fox was made. Recently the government expands Crested Ibis restoration with inter-nation collaboration between Korea and China. Also, from the record in August of 2012, Korea have obtained diverse genetic resources such as 51,445 items of wildlife genetic resources, 307,973 items of agricultural genetic resources and 246,182 items of marine genetic resources.” (CBD 2014:37)

More recently, a 2020 study conducted via text mining of studies of endangered species indicated that restoration efforts have not yielded the desired positive results (Do et al 2020).

Nature-based solutions, which incorporate nature into technological and engineering applications, have been proposed as one of possible strategies to enhance conservation outcomes in South Korea (Myeong and Oh 2021). There have also been calls for in-depth studies, in respect of individual habitats on the overall interplay between biodiversity and habitat changes and processes, to be performed with the advice of experts from various disciplines and relevant working groups and committees (Hong et al (2021).

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