Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung said on the 23rd, "A considerable number of wildfires are caused by individual carelessness," and noted, "Investigations, arrests, and criminal punishment of those responsible for accidental fires must be carried out strictly."
The Minister stated accordingly while presiding over an emergency joint inspection meeting on the response status with relevant agencies regarding the wildfires that occurred over the weekend, including the wildfire in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang.
Earlier over the weekend, 22 fires broke out in places including Seosan and Yesan in South Chungcheong, Goseong in Gangwon, Danyang in North Chungcheong, and Hamyang in South Gyeongsang. Among them, Hamyang County is still being extinguished, while the rest have been put out.
The Minister said, "The wildfire that broke out in Macheon-myeon, Hamyang County, is the first this year to trigger wildfire response level 2, and its spread has yet to abate," adding, "The government is mobilizing all available equipment and personnel to fight the fire."
As of 8 a.m. that day, the containment rate of the Hamyang wildfire was 32%, the affected area was 226 ha, and 134 people had evacuated. Fire authorities have deployed 51 firefighting helicopters, 754 personnel, and 119 pieces of equipment to extinguish the main fire.
The Minister said, "The government will respond strictly under a zero-tolerance policy to illegal acts that cause wildfires, such as throwing away cigarette butts and burning trash," and added, "Local governments should thoroughly carry out administrative measures, including crackdowns in areas adjacent to forests and imposing fines."
He also said, "As we experienced in last year's North Gyeongsang wildfire, a single small spark can escalate into a grave situation that claims dozens of lives and burns thousands of hectares of forest," adding, "We ask the public to strictly follow wildfire prevention guidelines and actively join in preventing wildfires."