Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Bill drafted to toughen penalties for causing wildfires
Houses are destroyed after a wildfire in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. Newsis
By Jung Min-ho
Overhaul command system for more effective response, experts say
Lawmakers proposed a bill on Monday to strengthen penalties for individuals who cause wildfires, after out-of-control blazes scorched more than 48,000 hectares of woodland and killed dozens of people in the worst wildfire disaster in the country’s history.
Rep. Suh Cheon-ho and 11 other lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party drafted a bill to increase the minimum prison sentence for individuals responsible for starting a fire in privately owned forests, raising it from five years to seven.
The bill also aims to raise the minimum prison sentence for those who accidentally start a fire in someone else’s forest or jeopardize public safety by causing a fire on their own land, increasing the sentence from three years to five.
This comes after a wildfire disaster that resulted in 30 deaths, 45 injuries and widespread damage to thousands of properties, including around 3,300 houses, in North Gyeongsang Province.
Investigators are looking into several suspects connected to the incidents that happened in multiple locations. One of them is a 56-year-old man suspected of starting a fire in Goesan-ri, Uiseong County, at around 11:24 a.m. on March 22. According to his daughter, who was with him at the time, the fire started accidentally while they were tending to a grave in the area.
Those found to have caused a fire unintentionally rarely receive a prison sentence. Of 2,108 forest fire cases between 2021 and so far this year, 817 were investigated. But only 43 people, or 5.3 percent, were given prison terms.
To fight the fire that lasted more than a week, the Korea Forest Service (KFS), a government agency responsible for nurturing and preserving forests, mobilized 335 helicopters and more than 16,000 officials, most of whom were from regional fire departments.
After a botched attempt to contain the fire in its early stages, many experts pointed out that the structure of authority may have contributed to that failure. Under the law, the forest agency is responsible for leading efforts to extinguish forest fires. When deemed necessary, it may ask for support from other government departments or agencies like the National Fire Agency (NFA).
“This command system needs to be reformed because, in terms of immediate response to such a disaster, it is certainly not the best system,” Son Won-bae, professor of disaster prevention at Chodang University, told The Korea Times. “Fighting fires is all about how to move quickly and effectively during the critical early stages. A lot of time could be wasted as KFS officials process fire reports they receive and decide over how to respond, including whether to seek support from other organizations.”
He said many KFS officials responsible for extinguishing forest fires are part-time and lack expertise in that field, given that they are primarily trained to respond to small fires.
“But as we have seen, big fires can happen and a failure in putting it out early could result in losses of many lives and massive damage,” said Lee Yong-jae, professor at the fire safety and management department of Kyungmin University. “It’s time to ponder whether the KFS should hand over some of its powers to the NFA, which is better equipped with more experts and other resources.”