Disastrous forest fires

Time to spare no efforts to prevent wildfires

The nation is bracing for increasing damage from multiple wildfires in eastern coastal areas after the first fire broke out in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Prompted by high winds and dry conditions, the fires burned 21,765 hectares of forest, equivalent to a third of Seoul City, in Uljin and other coastal regions as of 6 p.m. Monday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.

Despite the disastrous situation, it is fortunate that no casualties have been reported so far. But it is heartbreaking to see that more than 7,300 people from some 4,600 households were forced to leave their homes and move to makeshift facilities. The fires, seen as the worst disaster since the 2000 east coast forest fire, engulfed 570 facilities including 343 homes in areas such as Samcheok, Gangneung, Donghae and Yeongweol in Gangwon Province and Dalseong County in Daegu.

Firefighters are mobilizing all available manpower and equipment including helicopters and vehicles but have yet to completely put out the fires. They need to double down on containing the fires and preventing more damage from occurring.

The eastern coastal areas have annually been haunted by forest fires as they are vulnerable to dry weather and strong winds during winter seasons, in particular. What matters is that the wildfires has continued to spread. But what is most astounding is that the fires were allegedly caused by negligence or arson.

The fire that has destroyed 1,850 hectares of forest in Gangneung and neighboring Donghae areas was found to have been ignited by a man who torched his own home and other houses out of discontent with his neighbors.

Another forest fire, which began in Uljin and spread to Samcheok, could have been caused by a driver who threw a cigarette butt into a wooded area on the roadside. The driver should be held accountable for the disaster if he or she were found to have caused the fire. A thorough investigation needs to be conducted to discover what caused the disastrous fires.

The Moon Jae-in administration designated Uljin and Samcheok as a special disaster zone Sunday, the fourth of its kind resulting from forest fires since 2000. Such a zone was also declared in 2005 and 2019. The government should make all-out recovery efforts for the affected people. At the same time, it should spare no efforts to prevent another wildfire in the eastern coastal area as well as other parts of the country.

Now is the time to establish a more effective firefighting system to put out any forest fires at the initial stages. Equally important is to introduce modernized firefighting equipment and secure sufficient manpower. It is also necessary to dole out harsher punishment for arsonists and stage a public campaign to prevent forest fires that can be triggered by negligence.

The Chinese government has set its 2022 economic growth target at around 5.5 percent, the lowest in 31 years. "We have to put in a lot of effort to hit this goal," Premier Li Keqiang said while releasing the growth forecast at the National People's Congress, which opened last Saturday. China's growth objective marked the lowest level since the 4.5 percent target set in 1991 in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Economic uncertainty is deepening in the world's No. 2 economy amid slowing consumption and investment caused by the prolonging COVID-19 pandemic, unstable global supply chains and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some experts also predict a bursting of the real estate bubble, which accounts for about 30 percent of China's GDP.

All this shows why the Chinese government lowered its key interest rate in December and January, running counter to global trends More problematic, China's stunted growth is not a temporary phenomenon, as shown by the continuous slide in its growth rate, from over 7 percent in 2015 to the 6-percent range from 2016 to 2018, and 5.1 percent from 2020-2021. Goldman Sachs and Nomura Securities estimated China's annual economic expansion to remain at 4.3 percent this year.

The China risk comes as a significant threat to the Korean economy, which heavily relies on its giant neighbor for trade and investment. China accounts for 25 percent of Korea's exports, and this country has 1,850 imported items which accommodate more than 80 percent of domestic demand. According to the Hyundai Research Institute, if China's growth rate drops by 1 percentage point, that of Korea comes under pressure to fall by 0.5 percentage points.

To respond more effectively to the growing China risk, the Korean government should work out concrete strategies to diversify trade partners and raw material sources into Southeast Asia, Latin America and Central Asia. Government officials, business executives, and economic researchers ought to cooperate in carrying out measures to strengthen industrial competitiveness by widening the technology gap with competitors that are in close pursuit.