Man in his 80s admits to forest fire in Chungbuk, South Korea: ”My hands got cold so I set fire to the weeds”

An investigation has found that the cause of the forest fire that broke out in Okcheon, Chungbuk, on the 23rd of last month and spread to Yeongdong was the burning of weeds.
On the 2nd, the Special Judicial Police and Forestry Authority of Okcheon County, Chungbuk-do announced that suspect A, an 80-year-old man who is suspected of starting the forest fire, has admitted to the charges of starting the forest fire.
He confirmed the scene of the fire in Chocheon-ri, Cheongseong-myeon, where the fire started, and submitted a written admission. After removing weeds from a field, suspect A's hands got cold, so he set fire to the pile of weeds with a lighter.
Okcheon County found evidence of someone setting fire in one or two places near the ignition point and confirmed this with suspect A, but he reportedly denied the allegations.
Okcheon County will summon suspect A based on the confession letter and the results of the on-site investigation by the forestry authorities, and after investigating the exact circumstances, will file charges against him for arson under the Forest Protection Act.
The forest fire broke out at around 11:55 a.m. on the 23rd of last month. As the fire spread, suspect A attempted to put out the fire himself, suffering first-degree burns on his hands. When suspect A was transported to the hospital in an ambulance,
The man reportedly told rescuers, "I started the fire because I was trying to burn trash." The forest fire spread to the fields and mountains of Busan-ri, Yongsan-myeon, Yeongdong-gun, and about 40 hectares of forest was burned.
The fire was contained in a blaze that was about the size of 56 soccer fields (0.7 hectares). The fire was put out after about eight hours.