"Wildfire Damage Cut by 99% This Spring"... Government-Wide "One Wildfire Team" Honors 488 Contributors

[Financial News] Front-line heroes who helped dramatically reduce wildfire damage this spring gathered in one place. The KFS and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) held the 2026 Spring Wildfire Prevention Merit Awards Presentation Ceremony at the Severance Building at Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 21st. A total of 488 awards were presented to individuals and organizations that demonstrated outstanding dedication in the field, the agencies said.
 The awards program was launched in response to the president's instruction at a Cabinet meeting in May to "widely honor those who contributed to reducing wildfire damage." Based on comprehensive wildfire measures jointly established by relevant government agencies, the government mobilized its capabilities across the board. As a result, the area affected by wildfires this spring—from January 1 to May 15—fell by 99% from the previous year, while the time required to extinguish the main fires was cut by 58%. In particular, there were no wildfire-related deaths.
 The highest honor, orders, was presented to three people, including Lee Yong-gwon, director of forest disaster control at KFS, who oversaw the development of the comprehensive wildfire measures and integrated command, and Cheon In-su, an official with Gyeongsangnam-do, who expanded the use of privately leased helicopters and established a wide-area aerial firefighting system. Medals went to six people, including Lt. Col. Lee Jeong-hoon of the Ministry of National Defense, who strengthened the foundation for joint civilian-military responses, and Fire Superintendent Shin Yu-seop of the National Fire Agency, who improved the national firefighting mobilization system.
 Recipients of presidential commendations in the individual category included Choi Sang-man, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Kim Ik-tae, a member of KFS's special wildfire suppression team; and Kim Ki-hyun, an official with Chungcheongnam-do who prevented the wildfire from spreading to the Seosan oil reserve facility. In the group category, the honorees included KFS, the 21st Aviation Group, the National Fire Agency's Central 119 Aviation Unit and the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency. Private-sector contributors from various fields—including the Korean Forest Fire Society, volunteer fire brigades and local-government wildfire watch personnel—also received orders, medals and commendations.
 Park Eunsik, head of KFS, and Yun Ho-jung, minister of MOIS, attended the ceremony and encouraged the recipients, calling the awards "a valuable achievement made possible by close cooperation among relevant agencies as 'one wildfire team.'" They also reaffirmed their resolve to maintain a thorough response posture during the upcoming fall wildfire-prevention season.
 Meanwhile, analysis indicates that the use of advanced information and communications technology (ICT) equipment and the introduction of data-driven forecasting systems played decisive roles in the successful wildfire response this spring. KFS deployed AI-powered wildfire-monitoring drones and high-performance thermal imaging cameras in major mountainous areas nationwide, enabling it to detect smoke and embers in real time during the early stages of fires. This helped prevent the reignition of residual fires and allowed suppression crews to be deployed efficiently, raising the initial suppression rate.

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter