An annual flower festival was canceled in South Korea after unauthorized strains of genetically-modified organisms were found, the festival board said Wednesday.

The Taebaeksan Rape Flower Festival preparatory committee said that they decided to scrap this year’s event, scheduled for June 2-6, as flower specimen was tested positive for living modified organisms. South Korea entirely bans LMOs for fear that they may confuse the natural ecosystem. LMOs are able to reproduce as they are living organisms with genetically engineered genes.

The LMO flowers in Taebaeksan Park were detected during an inspection by the state-run Korea Seed & Variety Service on a total of eight rapeseed cultivation areas nationwide.

The rapeseeds were planted in March 13. The festival board said it bought 50 kilograms of the seeds from the seed distributors.

The committee disposed of all rape flowers planted in Taebaeksan Park on Tuesday upon the order of the KSVS.

“The incident has not only damaged the image of the festival but also caused serious problems such as subsidy settlement and civil liability due to cancellation of group travel,” said an official of the festival, adding it would take strict legal action against the seed distributors and others responsible, if any.

By Byun Hee-jin (hjbandi9@heraldcorp.com)