A government plan to give tax incentives to “environmentally friendly” golf courses has reignited a long-standing controversy over the sport, largely considered a luxury and environmental nuisance in Korea.

The Environment Ministry announced last month that it is working on a set of criteria for “green” courses. It aims to finalize them in July and form the certification committee in the following month, so that the first such course could debut in the fourth quarter of the year.

“We hope to see at least four courses approved by the end of this year,” Kim Dong-jin, an official at the ministry’s nature conservation bureau.

The current administration has been promoting the game as a key tourism resource to compete with other popular Asian resorts.

Under a draft plan, a golf facility will be evaluated on efforts to reduce use of pesticides, use renewable energy, preserve wildlife habitats and cut down on water consumption, among others.

A successful course will earn a variety of benefits from a cut of up to a 50 percent in environment improvement charges and a 15 percent cut in property taxes to exemptions from pesticide residue tests and an environmental impact assessment.

Environmentalists oppose the idea, claiming that such a certificate would not reflect the damages that golf courses inflict on the environment.

Golf courses are a net negative for the environment in Korea, a relatively small country whose territory is 70 percent covered by mountains and hills, they argue.

“The problem is that golf cannot be ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘sustainable’ under Korea’s circumstances,” said Park Yong-shin, director general of the Citizen’s Movement for Environmental Justice.

The greens at golf courses in Korea, aside from the very few built on abandoned mines, quarries and landfills, take a heavy toll on their surroundings, namely the destruction of forests and wildlife habitats in them, environmental activists say.

Once built, the lush green fields also require high amounts of toxic chemicals and pesticides and enormous consumption of water for maintenance.

The activists urge the government to first address environmental concerns properly when permitting construction of a new course.

The disputed plan reflects a change in the ministry’s approach toward golf clubs. Clubhouses have sprouted up in recent years despite strong public disapproval over their environmental damage.

Some 460 golf courses are in operation in Korea, nearly tripling from a decade ago when the tally stood at 160.

More than 40 percent of the fairways are concentrated in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, and Gangwon Province, known for its scenic mountains and thick woods.

The increase is partly due to government effort to make it cheaper to get tee time in Korea and curb overseas golf trips, a principal cause of the country’s massive deficit in travel accounts.

The ministry says it is time that the country shifts its golf policy to minimize environmental damage from those already in operation, away from the controversy that repeats every time a new course is approved.

“If we are not going to shut them all, isn’t it better to induce them to keep the environment in mind while managing the course?” ministry official Ryu Young-han said.

Movements to make courses more eco-friendly have taken root in some golf-loving Western countries, led by private organizations. The world’s two most renowned certifiers of golf course environment are the U.S.-based Audubon International and the Scotland-based Golf Environment Organization.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)