Korea expands inflow-warning species list covering alien birds, fish and reptiles

South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has amended the national roster of “inflow-warning species” — alien organisms whose entry into the country could harm ecosystems — in a notice issued on 2 November 2026. The amendment is published as 기후에너지환경부고시 제2026-984호 (Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Notice No. 2026-984) in 관보 제21352호 (Official Gazette No. 21352), at page 69. It revises the designation that had been in force since 기후에너지환경부고시 제2025-72호 of 30 December 2025.

The legal basis is Article 2, subparagraph 6-2 of the 생물다양성 보전 및 이용에 관한 법률 (Act on the Conservation and Use of Biological Diversity). Article 1 of the notice states its purpose plainly: to determine the kinds of inflow-warning species that could damage ecosystems if introduced into the country. Article 2 provides that the designated species are those set out in the annexed table, and the annex is reproduced in full in the gazette — meaning the operative list, not an amendment sheet, is what traders must read.

The scope of the designation

The annex is organised by taxonomic group and opens with common application criteria rather than individual species names.

• Mammals, birds, fish, molluscs, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, insects and spiders: the listing covers live organisms and their eggs.
• Plants: the listing covers live organisms and their attached organs — flowers, fruits, seeds and roots — as well as specimens.

The ten groups named in the annex are mammals, birds, fish, molluscs, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, insects, spiders and plants.

What the revised annex contains

The catalogue is extensive and mixes farm and aquarium escapees with species already notorious elsewhere as invaders.

• Mammals include 태평양쥐 (Rattus exulans), 태국다람쥐 (Callosciurus finlaysonii), 유럽비버 (Castor fiber), 흰꼬리사슴 (Odocoileus virginianus) and 아메리카밍크 (Neovison vison).
• Birds include 집참새 (Passer domesticus), 검은머리갈색찌르레기 (Acridotheres tristis), 집까마귀 (Corvus splendens), 이집트기러기 (Alopochen aegyptiaca) and 일본꿩 (Phasianus versicolor).
• Fish include 작은입배스 (Micropterus dolomieu), 모기송사리 (Gambusia affinis), 북방민물꼬치고기 (Esox lucius), 줄가물치 (Channa striata) and 나일농어 (Lates niloticus).
• Amphibians and reptiles include 쿠바청개구리 (Osteopilus septentrionalis), 사탕수수두꺼비 (Rhinella marina), 호주갈색나무뱀 (Boiga irregularis), 갈색도마뱀 (Anolis sagrei) and the turtle hybrid Mauremys sinensis × Mauremys reevesii.
• Molluscs and arthropods include 얼룩무늬담치 (Dreissena polymorpha), 스페인민달팽이 (Arion vulgaris), 마블가재 (Procambarus virginalis), 붉은손바닥태평양가재 (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and 유럽녹색꽃게 (Carcinus maenas).
• Insects and spiders include 콜로라도감자잎벌레 (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), 토마토뿔나방 (Tuta absoluta), 이집트숲모기 (Aedes aegypti), 검은과부거미 (Latrodectus mactans) and 시드니깔대기거미 (Atrax robustus).
• Plants include 서양수리 (Heracleum sosnowskyi), 큰생이가래 (Salvinia molesta), 미국가시풀 (Cenchrus echinatus) and 알레포소나무 (Pinus halepensis).

Entry into force and review

The supplementary provision states that the notice takes effect on the day it is issued — 2 November 2026 — with no grace period for those holding or trading the listed organisms. Article 3 sets a mandatory review: the minister must assess the notice’s continued validity every third year counted from 1 January 2026, and must complete each review by 31 December of that third year, taking improvement measures where needed.

The ministry’s signature block on the notice is that of the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, dated 2 November 2026.

Why it matters

For importers, pet traders, aquarium suppliers and aquaculture operators, the annex is the practical test of what may legally be brought in or released: because the criteria cover eggs, seeds, roots and specimens as well as live animals, the designation reaches far beyond adult specimens. Because the full list has been republished rather than flagged line by line, operators would be well advised to check their stock against the appendix itself rather than against earlier versions of the notice.

Source: 관보 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Korea), No. 21352, 2 November 2026, 고시 (notices), p. 69 (official reference: 기후에너지환경부고시 제2026-984호).