Spring Wildfire Prevention
Fines for Violations
To prevent spring wildfires, access to 131 out of 659 hiking trails in national parks nationwide will be restricted. The restriction period is from the 15th of this month to May 15th.
104 trails will be completely closed, and 27 trails will be partially restricted. The 104 fully closed trails total 434.26 km in length, including the Seoraksan Osaek~Daecheongbong section, while the 27 partially restricted trails cover a total length of 242.76 km.
According to the Korea National Park Service, there have been a total of 87 wildfires in national parks over the past 10 years (January 2014 to December 2023), most of which were caused by arson by visitors and nearby residents.
Homes using wood boilers and construction sites near national parks will be required to have fire extinguishers, and residents will be provided with volume-based waste bags to prevent burning activities in advance. On island areas, resident firefighting teams will be operated to focus on wildfire prevention and initial firefighting.
Starting this year, a monitoring system will be introduced and firefighting equipment expanded to enhance wildfire detection and suppression capabilities.
Intelligent wildfire monitoring closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) equipped with smoke detection sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) have been installed in four national parks with high wildfire occurrence rates: Jirisan, Bukhansan, Seoraksan, and Gyeongju.
Additionally, four high-performance wildfire firefighting vehicles capable of operating in mountainous terrain have been introduced.
A wildfire reporting reward system will also be implemented. Reporters of wildfires will receive a reward of up to 3 million KRW depending on the judgment or disposition of the wildfire cause.
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