Ministry of the Interior and Safety to provide 15 billion won in special grants for winter wildfire preparedness, up 50% from last year

[Financial News]  The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 9th that it would provide 15 billion won in Special Grants for Disaster and Safety Management to 16 cities and provinces nationwide to prevent wildfires this winter and next spring.
The amount is up 5 billion won (50%) from the 10 billion won provided last year. It will be used to expand wildfire monitoring facilities and replace aging firefighting equipment.
The ministry said it had increased the funding to strengthen local governments’ wildfire prevention efforts and initial firefighting capabilities ahead of the period when wildfire risk rises.
The disaster and safety special grants being allocated this time will be used to install wildfire surveillance cameras, reinforce firefighting equipment, replace aging firefighting vehicles and promote wildfire prevention. The measures are intended to strengthen monitoring systems in wildfire-prone areas and enable a swift response in the early stages of a fire.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) recently forecast that wildfire risk would rise in the future due to factors including higher temperatures resulting from climate change. The ministry said that prevention and initial firefighting are especially important because even a small wildfire can grow into a major one when strong winds coincide with dry weather.
Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung said, “Since even a single small spark can lead to major loss of life, proactive and thorough preparations are needed ahead of the wildfire season,” and urged local governments to “focus on strengthening wildfire monitoring, particularly in vulnerable areas, and improving their on-site response capabilities.”

[email protected] Lee Bomi Reporter