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Negligence responsible for weekend's devastating wildfires, authorities say

Published: 24 Mar. 2025, 15:15 Updated: 24 Mar. 2025, 17:21

A wildfire that started in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang, on March 21 continued to spread on March 23 as firefighters worked to contain the blaze. [YONHAP]

Fire authorities confirmed that a series of large-scale wildfires that broke out nationwide over the weekend were caused by human error, specifically negligence.

Local governments and forest authorities announced plans to file charges against those responsible once the fires are fully extinguished.

A wildfire began at around 11:24 a.m. Saturday on a mountain in Gwaesan-ri, Anpyeong-myeon, in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang.

A man in his 50s visiting his family grave called 119 emergency responders and reported that a fire had been accidentally started while he tended to the grave site.

A village resident heard about the fire and rushed to the scene at around 11:55 a.m. He encountered a group of visitors fleeing the site.

“When I asked where they were going, they hesitated,” the resident said. “I told them not to run and took a photo of their vehicle's license plate. Police arrived and took them away."

Upon arriving at the scene, police questioned the visitors about the cause of the fire and found a lighter.

“It appears the fire started near the mountaintop,” an Uiseong County official said. “Since the visitor to the grave admitted to using fire, once the blaze is extinguished, police will investigate and proceed with charges according to the law."

A house in Sicheon-myeon in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang, stands gutted by a wildfire that blazed for a third day on March 24. [YONHAP]

This was not the only case of human error. In Sicheon-myeon, Sancheong County, in South Gyeongsang, a fire broke out at 3:26 p.m. Friday. The cause was traced to a farmer who accidentally sparked a fire while using a weed whacker.

Another fire in Ulsan, which forced over 800 residents to evacuate, was reported at 12:12 p.m. on Saturday. Authorities suspect the fire was ignited by welding sparks from a farmer’s hut. Ulsan police specializing in forest services confirmed that they had spoken with a 60-year-old man found at the scene and filed charges against him for violating the Forest Protection Act.

Meanwhile, a fire that broke out in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, at 2:05 p.m. Saturday was caused by a man in his 60s burning a bag of snacks while managing a grave site.

Similarly, another fire in Hamyang County in South Gyeongsang at 12:25 p.m. Sunday was linked to welding work on a fence intended to prevent wild animal intrusion. South Gyeongsang provincial police are investigating both incidents and have charged the individuals involved in accordance with the Forest Protection Act.

These incidents are part of a worrying trend of forest fires caused by negligence nationwide. As of the day before, the fires have scorched an area roughly equivalent to 7,700 hectares, or the size of 19,000 football pitches.

According to the Korea Forest Service, over the past decade, from 2015 to 2024, there have been an average of 546 wildfires annually. Of these, 171, or 31 percent, were caused by visitors to the mountains, 68, or 12 percent, by the burning of waste, 60, or 11 percent, by burning farmland, and 35, or 6 percent, by discarded cigarette butts — indicating that most fires are due to negligence.

Tents are installed inside a public gymnasium in Uiseong County for displaced residents who evacuated from a wildfire in North Gyeongsang on March 23. [YONHAP]

Under the Forest Protection Act, individuals responsible for starting a forest fire, even by accident, are held liable. Article 53 stipulates that “a person who burns another's forest by negligence or who jeopardizes the general public by burning his or her own forest by negligence, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for up to three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won ($20,440).”

These penalties are more severe than those for ordinary negligence. Additionally, individuals may be required to pay compensation for damages in civil court.

Past cases illustrate the severity of the penalties for such offenses.

In 2015, a wildfire in Samcheok, Gangwon, caused 52 hectares of forest to burn due to an ember from a residential boiler. The homeowner was fined 5 million won and ordered to pay approximately 130 million won in damages after a civil lawsuit was filed by the Korea Forest Service.

In a separate incident in 2015 in Busan, a man in his 60s who discarded a cigarette butt and caused a wildfire was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Similarly, a man in his 60s in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay 80 million won in damages for starting a fire by burning trash in 2016.

Another case from 2021 involved the burning of agricultural waste, resulting in an eight-month prison sentence.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY BAEK KYUNG-SEO [[email protected]]