A man in his 60s who poured waste oil on the mountain summit deck surrenders... "No intention to start a fire, it was because of campers"

"No Intent to Start a Fire": Waste Oil Poured to Stop Backpackers
Public Opinion Divided Over A's Actions

Amid the worst-ever 'wildfire disaster' causing numerous casualties, a man in his 60s who poured waste oil near the summit of a mountain in the Seoul metropolitan area turned himself in to the police. On the 31st, the Hwaseong Western Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced that they had booked a man in his 60s, identified as A, on charges of property damage. A is accused of pouring waste oil from a car engine onto the deck floor at the summit of Taehangsan Mountain in Bibong-myeon, Hwaseong City, at around 7:50 a.m. on the 21st. Subsequently, on social networking services (SNS) used by hikers, rumors spread that a foul-smelling substance had been scattered near the mountain summit, and a citizen who saw this reported it to the police on the 27th.

The appearance of waste oil scattered on the deck at the summit of Seongsi Taehangsan. Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Disaster and Safety Headquarters

The police immediately launched an investigation, and after seeing the case reported in the media, A turned himself in the next day, on the 28th. The investigation revealed that A was involved in automobile maintenance work. It was understood that he committed the act to prevent so-called 'backpacking' hikers, who camp with equipment on Taehangsan, from pitching tents on the deck. He became angry after seeing some hikers discard waste generated during camping all over the mountain. A stated, "I poured waste oil because the number of hikers doing backpacking increased," and added, "I absolutely did not intend to start a fire."

The police judged that it was difficult to consider the case as arson, given that waste oil is not easily classified as a flammable substance like alcohol or gasoline, there was no evidence of an attempt to ignite a fire, and considering A's statements. They explained that if the purpose had been to start a wildfire, the fire would have been set on the day of the incident.

A police official said, "A, who frequently hikes Taehangsan, claims that he poured waste oil to eradicate the considerable amount of trash he observed being left behind each time he visited," adding, "We are investigating the details of the case."

If you actually search for images on portal sites using terms like 'Taehangsan night view' or 'Taehangsan backpacking,' you can easily find photos of tents densely packed on the Taehangsan summit deck. Online communities

Following the news of A's surrender, public opinion was sharply divided over his actions. Many netizens responded with comments such as, "I was shocked when I saw he even poured waste oil, wondering how bad it must have been," "Wow, do they really pitch tents so densely in such a narrow area? I looked it up, and it's true," "I saw the photos and wondered what that was. It's understandable to be really angry," "It's definitely not a right action, but I understand why he did it," and "The police also said it's not a flammable substance, and it doesn't seem like he intended arson; he must have been very upset."

In fact, searching for images with keywords like 'Taehangsan night view' or 'Taehangsan backpacking' on portal sites easily reveals photos of tents densely packed on the summit deck of Taehangsan. On the other hand, some netizens criticized A's actions as excessive, saying, "No matter what, it's wrong to pour waste oil during a wildfire crisis," and "If you hate trash, what about the ground that the waste oil seeps into?"

Meanwhile, since the 21st, large-scale wildfires centered in the Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk regions have resulted in 30 deaths and a total of 75 people either dead or injured. The wildfire-affected area was estimated at about 48,000 hectares. Over 3,000 houses were completely destroyed, along with damage to 30 national heritage sites and more than 2,000 agricultural facilities. As of the 30th, the main fires have all been extinguished, with human and property losses recorded as the largest ever.