

By Ko Dong-hwan

The discovery of river rats in the Nakdong River area has sounded an alarm about the region's ecological balance ― and now the government is offering cash for anyone capturing these large rodents, which the media has dubbed ''monster rats.''

From next week, the Ministry of Environment will pay 20,000 won for each captured or killed nutria, a beaver-like rodent originally from South America but increasingly found in Korea's warm southeast.

The reward will be offered in 13 municipalities where river rats are a problem, including Busan, Changwon, Jinju, Miryang and Gimhae.

Captured animals must be more than 20 centimeters long with a small tail ― features of an adult river rat.

About 10,000 river rats live in the Nakdong River area, the government believes.