Korea Forest Service and Ministry of the Interior and Safety Strengthen Pan-Governmental Response to Spring Forest Fires

On January 20, the Korea Forest Service announced that it will establish and operate a pan-governmental joint system in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to enable proactive response to spring forest fires.

Previously, the Korea Forest Service moved up the start date of the spring forest fire prevention period from February 1 to January 20. In addition, to prevent large-scale forest fires in advance, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will be activated early starting today (January 20).

The Korea Forest Service will activate the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters early from the 20th to respond to forest fires. Photo by Korea Forest Service

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will house the National Forest Fire Response Situation Room, enabling related agencies such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of National Defense, the National Fire Agency, and the National Police Agency to respond swiftly and jointly in the event of a forest fire.

To efficiently support the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters operated by the Korea Forest Service, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will operate a Countermeasure Support Headquarters during the spring forest fire prevention period. The ministry plans to support overall disaster response, including forest fire situation management and response, inter-agency cooperation systems, and resident evacuation.

The two agencies will divide their roles while maintaining a close cooperation system to ensure that the response to spring forest fires is carried out within a robust pan-governmental response framework.

The Korea Forest Service and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "There are limits to responding to forest fires with the capacity of a single agency. By strengthening the joint response system with both agencies at the core, along with related ministries and local governments, we will protect the lives and property of the people from forest fires."