Two people who started blazes that merged into Korea's worst-ever wildfire receive suspended sentences
Published: 16 Jan. 2026, 12:58
![Restaurants near Dalgi medicinal spring in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang, are seen destroyed by wildfires on March 28, 2025. [KIM JUNG-SEOK]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/16/ddd644f1-eac2-43a7-9747-424e827d196e.jpg)
Restaurants near Dalgi medicinal spring in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang, are seen destroyed by wildfires on March 28, 2025. [KIM JUNG-SEOK]
A lower court on Friday gave suspended jail terms to two people convicted of starting separate fires that merged into a massive wildfire, killing 26 people and causing record damage across North Gyeongsang last year.
The Uiseong branch of the Daegu District Court gave a suspended two-year prison sentence to a visiting person who prosecutors said started a fire on March 22 last year while using a lighter to clear a family grave on a hillside in Anpyeong-myeon, Uiseong County, in violation of the Forest Protection Act.
The court also handed a suspended two-and-a-half-year prison term to a farmer accused of igniting a separate fire the same day while burning trash at an orchard in Yonggi-ri, Angye-myeon.
The court ordered both people to complete 120 hours of community service.
“The extent of forest damage caused by the wildfire was extremely serious,” the court said, but ruled that the defendants could not have predicted that the fires would combine under exceptionally dry conditions or spread alongside other blazes.
It also said the evidence did not prove beyond reasonable doubt a direct causal link between the defendants’ actions and the deaths or injuries.
![Embers remain on March 31, 2025, in a farm in Andong, North Gyeongsang, after the wildfire is put out. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/16/b0f923a3-c31e-41b2-9787-2e8d4ab4b77d.jpg)
Embers remain on March 31, 2025, in a farm in Andong, North Gyeongsang, after the wildfire is put out. [YONHAP]
The two fires merged and, fueled by strong winds, spread from Uiseong to four other cities and counties in North Gyeongsang — Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok — burning for 149 hours, according to official estimates.
The wildfire killed 26 people and injured 31, destroyed 99,289 hectares of forest and displaced about 3,500 residents.
Authorities said 3,819 homes and 31 state-designated heritage sites, including temples, were damaged or destroyed, making it the worst wildfire disaster on record in Korea.
At a sentencing hearing last November, prosecutors sought three-year prison terms for both people, the maximum penalty applicable to accidental forest fires.
They said the defendants admitted their actions. "They carried out open burning during the spring dry season despite repeated wildfire prevention warnings from government agencies,” the court said, adding that “the offense was extremely serious."
The two people apologized for their actions in their final statements.
“I am sorry for causing such extensive damage through my carelessness. I will accept the court’s decision and live with a sense of atonement,” the visitor said.
“I poured water on the fire three times to try to put it out, but I never expected it to grow this large. I sincerely apologize for the loss of life and the damage to the region,” the farmer said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAEK KYUNG-SEO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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