Agriculture ministry unveils plan to eradicate classic swine fever in Korea by 2030

This file photo provided by the county office of Euiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, shows quarantine officials spraying disinfectant on March 11, 2025, to prevent the spread of African swine fever, March 11. Yonhap

The agriculture ministry unveiled Wednesday its plan to make Korea free of classic swine fever (CSF) and minimize outbreaks of other major viral diseases affecting pigs, such as porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), by 2030.

Under the road map, the country plans to establish infrastructure by 2027 for eradicating CSF, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

To this end, the ministry will first replace the current CSF vaccine with a new marker vaccine, a special type of vaccine designed to let authorities distinguish animals that have been vaccinated from those that have been naturally infected with a disease, starting next year.

The ministry will conduct detailed examinations of at least 25,000 animals at swine farms across the country each year to detect any potential outbreaks at the early stage, according to the ministry.

It will check the progress of such efforts from 2028 to 2029 and apply for CSF-free status with the World Organization for Animal Health in 2030.

Seoul will also work to minimize the outbreak of PED and PRRS by establishing a system to manage vaccination records for livestock diseases on a farm-by-farm basis and implement thorough disinfection inspection system.

In addition, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based early disease detection system will be introduced for pig farms, the ministry added.

"If Korea succeeds in eradicating the CSF and minimizing endemic swine diseases, the country will be able to secure a foundation for pork exports and create an opportunity for the swine industry to take a significant leap forward," Kim Jung-wook, a ministry official, said.