Spring Wildfire Damage Area Down 99%: "Shredding, Not Burning, Agricultural By-Products Proves Effective"

Significant Decrease in Wildfires Caused by Agricultural By-Products

This spring, wildfire damage has significantly decreased. This improvement is attributed to the prevention of illegal burning of agricultural by-products and the expansion of support for shredding agricultural by-products.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Korea Forest Service, and the Rural Development Administration announced on May 17 that, during the spring wildfire prevention period (January 20 to May 15), they actively implemented joint wildfire prevention activities with related agencies. These included preventing illegal burning of agricultural by-products, expanding support for shredding agricultural by-products, and focusing management on wildfire-prone areas. As a result, both the number of wildfires and the scale of damage have decreased significantly compared to the previous year.

Workers are shredding agricultural byproducts. Photo by The Asia Business Daily Database

This spring, there were 349 wildfires. However, the affected area dropped by 99%, from 10,500 hectares last year to just 722 hectares this year. Notably, there were no casualties this year.

Wildfires caused by burning agricultural by-products, which have long been cited as a major cause of spring wildfires in rural areas, have also been reduced. Thanks to strengthened collaboration among related agencies such as the Rural Development Administration, the Korea Forest Service, and local governments, increased support for intensive shredding, and expanded public awareness campaigns, the average number of such wildfires over the past 10 years (2016–2025) was 46, but only 11 occurred this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs coordinated and oversaw wildfire prevention activities that had previously been divided among various agencies such as the Rural Development Administration and the Korea Forest Service, establishing an integrated government-wide cooperation system. Meetings with stakeholders were held to operate a unified agricultural by-product shredding week, as well as meetings with provincial agricultural policy directors to coordinate each agency’s roles. During the spring wildfire prevention period, an emergency response system was established, and wildfire occurrences were monitored and reported at least twice daily, ensuring effective wildfire response management and communication.

The Rural Development Administration operated the 'On-Site Agricultural By-Product Shredding Support Team' (438 teams, 1,592 people) across 139 cities and counties nationwide, supporting the shredding of a total of 94,000 tons of agricultural by-products so far. In addition, approximately 130,000 farmers received education on the dangers of illegal burning and safe shredding practices, and 160,000 wildfire prevention text messages were sent out to eradicate illegal burning and raise awareness of wildfire prevention.

The Korea Forest Service launched the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters earlier than in previous years, starting on January 20, 2026. It strengthened support for agricultural by-product shredding and crackdowns on illegal burning by mobilizing 11,745 wildfire monitors and about 10,000 members of specialized wildfire suppression and forest disaster response teams.

Minister Song Miryung of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "Compared to the past, we have significantly strengthened collaboration and coordination functions with related agencies, and thanks to the active participation of farmers, we were able to greatly reduce wildfire damage this spring. Going forward, we will continue to expand support for agricultural by-product shredding and step up efforts to prevent illegal burning, doing our utmost to protect the lives and property of the public from wildfires."

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