South Korea to quadruple fines for igniting forest fires starting in February

On the 10th, the Korea Forest Service enacted the Forest Disaster Prevention Act, which will increase the fines for those negligently causing forest fires from the current maximum of 500,000 won (approximately 50,000 yen) to 2 million won (approximately 200,000 yen).
The law was passed by the National Diet plenary session in December last year and voted on by the Cabinet Council on January 21. It will come into effect on February 1 next year.
Under the revised law, if a fire occurs in a forest or in an area adjacent to the forest (within 100 meters),
The measure comes in response to criticism that the burden on those responsible for starting forest fires is small compared to the enormous damage caused by the fires.
In addition, the scope of management for forest disasters will be expanded to include areas surrounding forests, and the Director-General of the Forestry Agency will be given the authority to request local governments to evacuate residents when a disaster occurs.
Under the current system, evacuation orders can only be issued by the head of a local government or the chief of a fire station. Furthermore, the Korea Forest Disaster Safety Technology Corporation was newly established to strengthen response capabilities to forest disasters.
This will be a public organization that integrates the various organizations that have been operating separately so far, including forest fire prevention, forest conservation technology, and forest disease and pest control.
Aiming to establish.