‘Up to 30 Million KRW’ Korea Forest Service Announces National Idea Contest to Solve Forest Fire Burning Issues

Poster for the "National Idea Contest for Preventing Forest Fires." Provided by the Korea Forest Service.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service is asking the public for ideas to prevent slash-and-burn fires.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 12th that it will hold a "National Idea Contest for Preventing Slash-and-Burn Fires" until the 15th of next month.

The contest focuses on finding ways to prevent slash-and-burn fires, which frequently occur in rural farming areas, by applying big data analysis or information and communication technology (ICT).

Anyone, including citizens, companies, and organizations, can participate, and one person can submit multiple entries. Applicants can download the application form and proposal from the "Challenge Korea" board on the Gwanghwamun 1st Street website, fill them out, and submit.

The Korea Forest Service will select outstanding candidates through a document review after receiving ideas, then decide the winners through an in-person evaluation (in October).

The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in November. The proposer of the best idea will receive a prize of up to 30 million KRW, and the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award will also be presented.

Meanwhile, slash-and-burn fires are one of the main causes of forest fires (ranked second). In fact, over the past 10 years, an average of 132 slash-and-burn fires (30% of all fires) have occurred annually, resulting in the loss of 87 hectares of forest and 48 injuries or deaths.

Park Jong-ho, head of the Korea Forest Service, said, "Illegal burning in forests and forest-adjacent areas (within 100 meters of forests) is a major cause of forest fires and increases the possibility of large-scale fires. Through this contest, the Korea Forest Service aims to improve public awareness of slash-and-burn fires and provide an opportunity for the public to consider ways to proactively eliminate the risk factors of slash-and-burn fires."

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