Continuing influx of foreign pests in ports... The overall quarantine system needs to be overhauled.

(Hongseong = Yonhap News) Reporter Byun Seon-jin = It has been pointed out that the port quarantine system as a whole needs to be revised as foreign pests such as red fire ants continue to be introduced into the country through empty containers.

According to data submitted by People Power Party Rep. Kang Seung-gyu (Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, Yesan), a member of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee of the National Assembly on the 4th, from the Busan, Incheon, Yeosu Gwangyang, and Ulsan Port Corporations, foreign pests, including red fire ants, which are organisms that disrupt the ecosystem, are being consistently detected in major ports across the country.

Red fire ants were found every year in Incheon Port from 2020 to this year.

In August 2022, 62 ants, including the queen, were discovered, followed by about 410 ants in August 2023 and 2,000 in May 2024.

In July of last year, about 710 ants, including princess ants capable of reproduction, were discovered in two terminals, and about 200 were detected in June of this year.

At Busan Port, red fire ants were found in a new port logistics bonded warehouse this year, and dozens of exotic pests such as harmful ants and tree-eating insects are discovered in yards and containers every year.

Red fire ants also appeared one after another in Gwangyang Port.

Although foreign pests are being discovered consistently, port construction companies' actual surveys of 'imported empty containers', which are considered a major introduction route, are revealing their limitations.

The Busan Port Authority drastically reduced the sample survey, which had been targeting 2,500 to 3,700 piers per session from 2021 to 2023, to about 100 piers, one each for the North Port and New Port, from 2024.

Even though the sample has decreased, the detection rate of defective empty containers was high at 36% in the first half of 2024, 29% in the first half of last year, and 34% in the first half of this year.

Incheon Port Authority is also inspecting only 26 to 31 empty containers out of 1,000 to 1,700 empty containers brought in during the survey period after 2023.

Even with a small number of samples, the discovery rate of organisms in containers reached 53.3% in the first half of 2024, 40.0% in the first half of last year, and 33.3% in the first half of this year.

Rep. Kang pointed out, “If defective empty containers containing foreign pests and waste are transported inland, the negative impact on farms and the domestic ecosystem is very significant,” and “The current sample survey is insufficient to achieve a practical quarantine effect due to the reduced scale or low rate.”

He emphasized, "We must work closely with related ministries such as the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Quarantine Headquarters and the Korea Customs Service to quickly establish a tight port quarantine monitoring system, including strengthening inspections of empty containers from high-risk areas and expanding regular cleaning and pest control facilities."