Lee gave the instructions while visiting Hoengseong in Gangwon Province, east of Seoul, on Sunday morning to inspect the mountainous region's quarantine efforts against the highly contagious livestock epidemic, which has been reported in 119 areas nationwide since the first case was reported in late November.   

FMD, which affects all cloven-hoofed animals, like cattle and pigs, has so far forced the government to cull and bury 1.67 million heads of cattle, pigs, goats and deer on 3,912 farms with damage estimated to run to about 1.5 trillion won (US$1.34 billion).

Lee visited a roadside quarantine guard post in Hoengseong, about 137 kilometers east of Seoul, and gave words of encouragement to civil servants stationed there, according to presidential aides.

Hoengseong is the chief production district for top-grade meat of Korea's homegrown cows, known as hanwoo.

The president, accompanied by his agriculture and home affairs ministers, went on to visit Hoengseong's county office to be briefed on the local government's quarantine efforts and ordered that quarantine efforts be intensified as the number of travelers, including homecomers, will drastically increase during the Lunar New Year holidays. (Yonhap News)