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Gyeongsang wildfires declared contained as police book man suspected of starting blaze

Published: 30 Mar. 2025, 16:36 Updated: 30 Mar. 2025, 18:37

LIM JEONG-WON
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Soldiers from the Army's 50th Division closely examine a forest area while supporting a wildfire suppression operation in the Gyeongsang region on March 30. [YONHAP]

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency booked a 56-year-old man without detention on Sunday on charges of starting a wildfire in North Gyeongsang that caused at least 30 deaths as the blaze swept the region over the past week.

The development comes as Korea's disaster response authorities declared an end to the wildfire emergency on Sunday.

The man is accused of violating the Forest Protection Act and causing a fire in the area while tidying his grandparents’ graves in Goesan-ri, Anpyeong-myeon in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang, at around 11:24 a.m. on March 22. He reportedly denies the charges.

The police’s scientific investigation team took measures to preserve the scene the day before the arrest was made, with police planning to conduct a joint investigation with the National Institute of Forest Science, the National Forensic Service and local fire departments as early as next week.

At the time of the fire's ignition, the man’s daughter told the 119 situation room that a fire had incinerated her great-grandfather's grave site. The man’s wife had been with them at the scene, too, according to the police.

The daughter of the arrested man told police during the basic fact-finding investigation that they had “tried to burn a tree at the grave site with a lighter because it wouldn’t bend, but the wind ignited the sparks and started a fire.”

“We will call the suspect in after the basic fact-finding investigation is complete,” a police officer said.

The wildfire spread to Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok in northeastern North Gyeongsang, riding strong winds.

Thirty people, including a helicopter pilot, wildfire watchers and residents, died in the wildfire.

Evacuees eat lunch at the Cheongsong National Sports Center, a shelter for evacuees from the wildfire in Cheongsong, North Gyeongsang, on March 30. [YONHAP]

Tangible cultural heritage sites such as Gounsa Temple, national treasures and an estimated 4,000 houses and factories were lost in the blaze.

The wildfire affected 45,157 hectares of land, equivalent to 63,601 football pitches.

When the wildfire broke out on March 22, in addition to the report from Goesan-ri, there were separate 119 reports of fires in Yonggi-ri, Angye-myeon and Cheongro-ri, Geumseong-myeon.

At the time, the forestry authorities informed the press that the two fires were separate from the Goesan-ri blaze, potentially requiring additional investigations.

A man looks around his burned down house in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang, on March 30, after a wildfire swept through the area. [NEWS1]

According to the forestry authorities, the fire in Angye-myeon was believed to have started when a resident burned a field. The resident in question was not identified, according to the North Gyeongsang provincial government.

The Uiseong Forestry Division plans to determine the cause of the fire through witness and on-site investigations.

The fire that began in South Gyeongsang's Sancheong County and swept the region for 10 days was largely extinguished as of 1 p.m. Sunday, approximately 213 hours after it ignited, according to the forest authorities the same day.

The head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Ko Gi-dong, said during a briefing Sunday that “all of the large-scale wildfires that broke out in the Gyeongsang region last week have been extinguished after an all-out response."

Forest authorities concentrated their firefighting efforts on Saturday to put out the last 1 percent of the wildfire in Sancheong and Hadong counties in South Gyeongsang but could not wholly extinguish them due to the rugged terrain.

A golf course in Andong, North Gyeongsang, is seen blackened by wildfires on March 29. [YONHAP]

As soon as the sun rose Sunday, 996 personnel, including 108 special firefighting units and 50 helicopters, were deployed to begin the final operation to extinguish the blaze. Forest authorities are focusing on extinguishing the last remaining fire line, a 200-meter blaze near Mount Jiri.

The forestry authorities issued a Level 3 wildfire alert — the highest in the country — after the fire began on March 22 and began extinguishing operations, but the fire grew rapidly due to strong winds and continued to spread for several days.

A total of 2,158 people were displaced due to the Gyeongsang wildfires, according to the authorities.