Defendants put on trial on charges of causing the "North Gyeongsang wildfire," recorded as the worst damage ever, were given suspended prison sentences.
According to legal sources on the 16th, Judge Mun Hyeok of the Criminal Division 1, Uiseong Branch of the Daegu District Court, sentenced a cemetery visitor, a person surnamed Shin, 55, who was indicted on charges of violating the Forest Protection Act, to two years in prison, suspended for three years. The judge also ordered 120 hours of community service. For a person surnamed Jeong, 63, an orchard lessee indicted on the same charge, the judge sentenced two years and six months in prison, suspended for three years, and ordered probation and 120 hours of community service.
Shin was tried on charges of setting fire to a tree to burn saplings that had grown on grandparents' graves in a low mountain in Goesan-ri, Anpyeong-myeon, Uiseong County, on Mar. 22 last year, which spread into a large wildfire. Jeong was indicted on charges of burning agricultural byproducts in an orchard in Yonggi-ri, Angye-myeon, Uiseong County, on the same day, which spread into a large wildfire.
Judge Mun said, "From a preventive perspective of punishment, there is a need to impose severe penalties on the defendants as a warning to others," but added, "The defendants could not have foreseen in advance circumstances such as the combination with other wildfires."
He continued, "To link the loss of life to the defendants' actions, a substantial causal relationship must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, it cannot be deemed clearly proven," adding, "Holding the defendants responsible for all acts runs counter to the principle of culpability."
Judge Mun also considered that in past precedents, cases where a prison term was imposed when a wildfire occurred due to negligence rather than intent were extremely rare. He said, "Natural and external results that were difficult for the defendants to foresee contributed to this case, and imposing heavy sentences on the defendants while disregarding consistency with other similar cases would be excessively harsh."
On Mar. 22 last year, wildfires broke out in Angye-myeon and Anpyeong-myeon in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang. Fanned by strong winds, the fires spread to Andong, Cheongsong County, Yeongyang County and Yeongdeok County. The wildfires were contained only after 149 hours.
In the North Gyeongsang wildfires, 26 people were killed and 31 were injured across five cities and counties. There were also more than 3,500 displaced residents. The damaged area was tallied at 99,289 hectares (ha), the largest ever.