Korean 'plant thief' jailed in US

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

A Korean man who traveled around the world stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of plants to smuggle to Asia was jailed in the U.S., Thursday.

Kim Byung-su admitted digging up $150,000 worth of Dudleya succulents from remote parks in northern California.

The plant, which grows in bud-like circles and resembles an artichoke, is native to the rugged coastlines of Oregon and northern California.

It is popular in East Asia, where it is used for decorations.

A court in Los Angeles heard how Kim and his accomplices swiped thousands of the succulents from several state parks in 2018, before boxing them up and claiming they were purchased legally in San Diego.

The shipment was intercepted before it left the United States. Kim was arrested and his passport was seized, but he later convinced the Korean consulate to issue a new one, claiming his original had been lost.

He fled abroad but was arrested and convicted in South Africa for illegally harvesting plants native to that country for export to Asia.

Prosecutors who extradited Kim in 2020 said his raid on California's flora was not an isolated incident, and that he had travelled to the United States more than 50 times.

"Customs records show that he was traveling for succulent-related purposes and often with tens of thousands of dollars in cash (sometimes declared, sometime not) and fake phytosanitary certificates," they said.

Kim admitted to one count of attempting to export plants taken in violation of state law. He was jailed for two years.






Omona, do you garden?


source: The Korea Times

Comments

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

I do not garden, but I wish I did. Also this is just...wow. Okay. Not an angle I'd have picked for larceny and fraud but...kudos to that guy for thinking outside the box? I guess? I just...who does that? Besides this guy, obviously.

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

Good job USA. Our country is going gun and racist crazy but thanks for protecting our...plants?

[frequency.livejournal.com]

i can definitely say that hearing about someone smuggling succulents is a first for me 🥴

i don't personally garden, but my parents have a raised garden with some tomato plants in it right now. a friend of theirs gave me a small succulent and i clearly did something wrong because it died 😭 i really love succulents but i think it'll be fake ones for me for a while...... (say "succulents" one more time!!)

[jaequeeragenda.livejournal.com]

he's lucky those plants are NOT invasive to wherever he was sending them too or least i hope he avoided sending invasive plants to countries he shouldn't have lol

interesting case lawlz

[takemydream.livejournal.com]

I don't know why people are making fun of this? Introducing foreign species of flora & fauna can have big consequences, plus he damaged parks/natural habitats. His actions are really messed up.

[pseudo-shigure.livejournal.com]

Omona, do you garden?
LOL don't even get people's fascination with plant tbh.

[996677.livejournal.com]

haha when seeds sprout and start growing my brain goes brrr

then i forget about them and they die :’0

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

lol but he could've damaged environments in both countries so.. i kind of get it

i don't have a garden but i do have a lot of plants in my house and on my outside balcony!! + a mini avocado propagation station

[996677.livejournal.com]

south africa too?? this guy is wild

damaging local environment and sending potentially invasive or diseased plants abroad is punisheable for a reason.

i like enjoy gardening but i’m not very good at it. i regularly kill my house plants too TT

[nefertitii.livejournal.com]

wow i heard about this when i was into succulents maybe 3-4 years ago. ppl in the community were saying not to buy succulents from this korean website because there were rumors of the plants being stolen.

this problem is also common in the greater plant community, because plant influencers want rarer and rarer plants. so some ppl are stealing rare, endangered plants from south east asia to sell in europe/US

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Stealing succulents from a region prone to fires. His crime could lead to serious consequences. Also I doubt the people who investigated this are the same ones who focus on drugs or guns.
I grow roses.

[kastih.livejournal.com]

The only one of my plant children to not die is the tiny ikea aloe i stuck in the bathroom window and barely interact with😭