"Let's See How Fast They Come"... Provincial Assembly Members Set Fire to Rice Field and Call 119, a New Type of Abuse of Power

Two vehicles including a large pump truck arrived at the scene in 8 minutes
Encouraged with "Well done on the quick suppression" for rapid dispatch

Members of the Construction and Firefighting Committee of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council deliberately set fire to a rice field and reported it to the fire department, claiming to inspect the fire response readiness, sparking controversy. The Firefighters' Labor Union strongly opposed this, calling it an act of "gapjil" (abuse of power). On the 27th, Yonhap News reported on a recent fire report incident that occurred in Sangju City, Gyeongbuk.

At around 3:40 PM on the 18th, a report was received at the 119 emergency call center about a fire on a rice field embankment in Hwasan-dong, Sangju City. The man who made the report told 119, "There is smoke coming from the rice field embankment across the street." The fire authorities dispatched two large pump trucks to the scene, one of which arrived in 8 minutes. At the site, a relatively small area of straw and weeds was burning.

Members of the Construction and Firefighting Committee of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council deliberately set fire to a rice field and reported it to the fire department, claiming they wanted to check the fire response readiness, which has sparked controversy. The Firefighters' Labor Union strongly opposed this, calling it an act of abuse of power. Photo by Firefighters' Labor Union

The fire was started by members of the Provincial Council's Construction and Firefighting Committee who had just finished an administrative audit at the Sangju Fire Station earlier that day. It was confirmed that the smoke was caused by them setting fire to wet straw bundles. The council members praised the firefighters for their quick response and effective suppression of the fire. It was also confirmed that the fire report was made by a public official belonging to the Construction and Firefighting Committee.

The union strongly protested to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council over the council members' absurd behavior. Kim Ju-cheol, Chairman of the Gyeongbuk branch of the Firefighters' Labor Union, criticized, "This is an abuse of power and authority by the council members," adding, "There are already regular drills and surprise dispatch drills, so what are they doing?" The Gyeongbuk Provincial Council's Construction and Firefighting Committee told Yonhap News that they planned this inspection while moving from the Sangju Fire Station to the Gumi Fire Station after completing the administrative audit that day.

They claimed that during the administrative audit period, they checked the site to ensure the safety of residents and protect lives. From the 1st of this month until the 15th of next month is the autumn wildfire prevention period. It was reported that Kim Jin-yeop, Vice Chairman of the Construction and Firefighting Committee, who was the only one with a lighter at the time, personally set the fire.

Vice Chairman Kim said, "The rice field embankment was very damp, so only smoke came out and the flames did not catch properly," adding, "Gyeongbuk's fire dispatch time is the slowest in the country, and Sangju is the worst among them, so we conducted this inspection." Park Soon-beom, Chairman of the Provincial Council's Construction and Firefighting Committee, said, "Recently, in Yeongyang, Gyeongbuk, a resident's house was completely burned down because the fire truck's water spray did not work," and added, "We set a small fire like a campfire in an empty rice field to check the spraying function." He continued, "If there were any inconveniences during the inspection process, we will improve and conduct the inspection better in the future."