Public Officials in Charge of Safety Referred to Prosecution over Sancheong Wildfire with Nine Casualties ... Union Says "It Is Devastating That Accepting Risk Ends in Punishment, the Case Must Be Reviewed"

In connection with the nine casualties that occurred while extinguishing a large wildfire in Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, in March last year, three public officials from the Gyeongnam Provincial Government have been referred to the prosecution. In response, public officials' labor unions condemned the move and called for improvements to the disaster response accountability structure and a review of the case.

The Public Officials' Labor Union Federation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Public Officials' Labor Union, and others held a press conference in front of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 23rd, arguing, "An objective investigation into the disaster response process is absolutely necessary, but in a society where actions taken while accepting risk lead to punishment, proactive administration cannot exist."

The Federation of Government Employees' Unions of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Employees' Union are holding a press conference condemning the referral without detention of three public officials in connection with casualties that occurred during firefighting efforts for the Sancheong County wildfire. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Shin Donggeun, head of the Public Officials' Labor Union Federation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, "In an unpredictable situation, public officials did their best to respond with limited personnel and equipment and under intense time pressure," adding, "We express not only deep regret but strong anger at the results of the police investigation, which, without sufficient review of structural limitations and institutional problems, place all the blame solely on front-line public officials."

He continued, "Disaster response is not an issue of individual negligence but a problem of the national system," and pointed out, "If public officials who remain on the front lines amid danger cannot receive protection from the state, South Korea's disaster response system will inevitably collapse."

Han Jinhui, head of the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Public Officials' Labor Union, said, "Public officials exist to protect the lives of the people and to respond to disasters, and if they are at fault, they must also take responsibility," but added, "However, holding people accountable while excluding the decision-making process and structure of disaster response is not justice; it is merely punishment for the outcome."

He further said, "If public officials who tried to protect the people on the scene become targets of punishment, then when disasters occur in the future, they will inevitably respond passively, and the golden time to ensure the safety of the people will be missed."

Wildfire site in Sicheon-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do. Provided by the Korea Forest Service.

Previously, at around 3:20 p.m. on March 21 last year, a fire broke out on a hillside in Sicheon-myeon, Sancheong County, and spread to Hadong County and Jirisan National Park.

The fire was extinguished only at around 1:00 p.m. on the 30th, 10 days after it started, but approximately 1,858 hectares of forest, equivalent to 2,602 soccer fields, were burned, and 28 houses, 2 factories, 2 religious facilities, and 84 facilities including cultural properties were reduced to ashes.

During this process, on March 22, the second day of the wildfire, four people, including three wildfire suppression crew members from Changnyeong County and one supervising public official, died after becoming trapped by the flames while conducting firefighting operations on the scene, and five others were injured.

In connection with this, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, which conducted the investigation, referred three public officials to the prosecution without detention on the 11th: a supervisor, a team leader, and a working-level official belonging to the ground firefighting unit of the integrated wildfire command headquarters of the Gyeongnam Provincial Government, who were the safety management officers at the time.

According to the police, during the wildfire in Sicheon-myeon, Sancheong County, in March last year, they are suspected of having forced the deployment of the victims without carefully reviewing on-site weather information and wildfire spread information, and without providing any safety training or conducting equipment checks.

The police explained that, under the headquarters' operating manuals and related guidelines, the three were required to confirm measures such as prohibiting the deployment of suppression crews to high-risk areas, establishing and operating a robust communications network, conducting safety training, and ensuring the availability of safety gear. Nevertheless, they placed suppression crews in dangerous locations while having an insufficient understanding of risk factors, including the wildfire and weather conditions and the access routes and other entry conditions.

The police also determined that they failed to properly establish and maintain a smooth communication system between the command headquarters and the suppression crews, which meant that information on risk factors was not adequately conveyed. In addition, they found that safety training on risk factors and safety rules before deployment, as well as inspections of the suppression crews' equipment and safety gear, were insufficient.

The Public Officials' Union Federation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Employees' Union and others are holding a press conference condemning the referral without detention of three public officials in connection with casualties that occurred during firefighting efforts for the wildfire in Sancheong County. Photo by Lee Seryeong

On this day, the public officials' union rebutted the police investigation point by point, citing the following: that the decision on whether to deploy to the scene at the time was made through a situation assessment meeting of the integrated wildfire command headquarters; that explanations of the situation and safety training were provided to supervisors and team leaders of the suppression crews; that employees of the Sancheong County Government and the Sancheong County Forestry Cooperative, who were familiar with the local terrain, guided the scene; that information was shared via emergency contact networks or group chat rooms; and that, through the supervising public official, safety training, equipment checks, firefighting strategies, and explanations from the integrated command headquarters were communicated to the regional professional wildfire prevention and suppression unit.

The union stated, "Disasters are handled by the state, but when an accident occurs, the organization's decision disappears and only the individual's decision remains," and added, "As long as the structure in which the state responds to disasters but front-line public officials bear the responsibility remains in place, the problem will inevitably be repeated."

They also said, "Disaster sites cannot be handled by manuals alone; judgment and determination are required," and argued, "Investigations focused solely on outcome-based responsibility discourage disaster response."

They went on to stress, "If criminal liability continues to be imposed based only on the outcome, front-line public officials will choose the safest option, which is to make no decision at all, and at that moment, what disappears is not proactive administration by public officials but the golden time to protect the lives and safety of the people."

They then called for the following: conducting investigations that reflect the collective decision-making structure of disaster response; establishing a principle of process-based responsibility; enacting a law to protect public officials at disaster sites; creating a system to ensure a balance between the responsibilities and authority of public officials; and clarifying the criteria for applying criminal liability in the performance of official duties.

The union said that, in connection with this case, 12,343 public officials from the Gyeongnam Provincial Government, 18 cities and counties in the province, the Korea Forest Service, and the Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters have submitted petitions.

Officials from the Public Officials' Labor Union Federation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Guro District Office Public Officials' Labor Union in Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Labor Union, the Daegu Public Officials' Labor Union, the Ulsan City Public Officials' Labor Union, the Gapyeong County Public Officials' Labor Union in Gyeonggi Province, the Guri City Hall Public Officials' Labor Union, the Dongducheon City Public Officials' Labor Union, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Integrated Public Officials' Labor Union, the Inje County Office Public Officials' Labor Union, the North Chungcheong Provincial Government Public Officials' Labor Union, the North Jeolla Provincial Government Public Officials' Labor Union, the South Jeolla Provincial Government Public Officials' Labor Union, the Mokpo City Public Officials' Labor Union, the Andong City Public Officials' Labor Union, the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Public Officials' Labor Union, the Changwon City Public Officials' Labor Union, and the Gyeongnam Office of Education Local Public Officials' Labor Union participated in the press conference.