Two Responsible for Record-Breaking Gyeongbuk Wildfire Receive Suspended Prison Sentences

Burning Trees at Grandparents' Graves Led to Wildfire
67 Casualties Including 27 Deaths
Court: "Insufficient Causal Link to Prove Responsibility for Loss of Life"

Two defendants indicted for causing the "Gyeongbuk wildfire," which resulted in the worst damage on record in March last year, have been sentenced to prison terms with suspended sentences.

According to Yonhap News on January 16, the Daegu District Court Uiseong Branch Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Moon Hyuk) sentenced Shin (age 55), a visitor to ancestral graves who was prosecuted for violating the Forest Protection Act, to two years in prison with a three-year suspended sentence. Shin was also ordered to complete 120 hours of community service. The court also sentenced Jeong (age 63), an orchard tenant who was prosecuted on the same charge, to two years and six months in prison with a three-year suspended sentence. Jeong was also ordered to undergo probation and complete 120 hours of community service.

A fire caused by embers carried by strong winds from a wildfire occurred on March 25 last year in Hawha 1-ri, Danchon-myeon, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Shin was prosecuted for setting fire to young trees growing on his grandparents' graves in a hill in Goesan-ri, Anpyeong-myeon, Uiseong-gun on March 22 last year, which led to a large-scale wildfire. Jeong was indicted for burning agricultural by-products in an orchard in Yonggi-ri, Angye-myeon, Uiseong-gun on the same day, which also spread into a major wildfire.

The court stated, "From a preventive perspective, it is necessary to impose strict punishment on the defendants to set an example." However, it added, "Although the extent of forest damage caused by the wildfire is very serious, the situation at the time was extremely dry, and the defendants could not have foreseen factors such as the combination with other wildfires in advance." The court further explained, "In order to link the defendants' actions to casualties such as deaths and injuries, a substantial causal relationship must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. However, based on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, this cannot be clearly established. Holding the defendants responsible for all outcomes would violate the principle of culpability," the court stated as its reasoning for sentencing.

The court also said, "We have deliberated extensively on this case and reviewed numerous similar precedents. There are very few cases where a prison sentence was imposed when a wildfire was caused by negligence rather than intent." The court added, "Natural and external factors that were difficult for the defendants to foresee contributed to this incident, and it would be excessively harsh to impose a severe sentence on the defendants without considering fairness with other similar cases."

Due to their accidental fires, wildfires broke out simultaneously at two locations-Angye-myeon and Anpyeong-myeon-in Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, on March 22 last year. The fire, carried by strong winds, spread to four neighboring cities and counties: Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok. It took 149 hours to bring the main blaze under control. As a result of this wildfire, there were 67 casualties-including 27 deaths and 40 injuries-across five cities and counties, including Uiseong and Andong. The total area affected was recorded at 99,289 hectares, the largest on record.