"Zero-Tolerance Policy for Illegal Burning and Other Violations"
On the 7th, Anseong City in Gyeonggi Province announced that it will intensify crackdowns on illegal burning activities, focusing on areas adjacent to forests to prevent large-scale wildfires. To this end, the city will operate a mobile crackdown team composed of all employees until the 20th.
Anseong city officials are cleaning up the remaining embers caused by illegal burning. Photo by Anseong City
The mobile crackdown team, consisting of 156 members from 38 departments of the city hall, conducts focused inspections twice a day in pairs across 15 towns, townships, and neighborhoods. In particular, illegal burning activities detected during the crackdown period will be subject to fines or legal action under a zero-tolerance policy.
The crackdown is based on ▲Article 34 of the Forest Protection Act (Prohibition of Setting Fires) and ▲Article 8 of the Waste Management Act (Prohibition of Improper Waste Disposal). Violations may result in ▲imprisonment for up to three years or fines up to 30 million KRW ▲or fines up to 1 million KRW.
Along with the crackdown, the mobile team also visits community centers and senior citizen centers to conduct public awareness activities.
A city official stated, "There are limits to wildfire prevention through administrative efforts alone," adding, "Citizens' interest and participation will be a great help in preventing large-scale wildfires."
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