Gwangju City Conducts Intensive Inspection of Illegal Burning in Rural Areas

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 13th that it will conduct intensive inspections to prevent illegal burning activities in rural areas in accordance with the seasonal fine dust management system (December 2019 to March 2020) being promoted nationwide.

This inspection will be carried out jointly by Gwangju City and five autonomous districts by forming a joint inspection team consisting of agricultural administration, environment, and forestry departments until the end of this month.

According to the current Ministry of Environment regulations and treatment standards related to illegal burning, burning agricultural by-products, waste vinyl, household waste, etc. outdoors or using them as fuel in stoves is considered illegal waste burning.

Also, processing waste at facilities without permission, approval, or notification may result in a fine of up to 1 million won under the Waste Management Act.

Accordingly, Gwangju City will promote and educate at storage sites of agricultural by-products, waste vinyl, household waste, etc., where burning activities are expected in rural areas, and will immediately respond to and crack down on burning activities on rice field and field ridges near forest areas.

Furthermore, if violations are detected during inspections, strict measures such as fines will be imposed according to relevant laws.

Kim Hyun-jung, head of the Life Agriculture Division of the city, said, “Burning agricultural by-products, which has been a customary practice in rural areas, can also be a cause of fine dust,” and added, “We ask for the interest and cooperation of citizens to reduce fine dust and prevent forest fires.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.