Man with prior arson conviction detained on suspicion of setting recent wildfires in South Gyeongsang
Published: 16 Mar. 2026, 17:15
![Smoke and flames rise from a mountainside in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, on Feb. 21. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/16/9a2c69d9-44ee-4dc5-be86-3a6fae9372e0.jpg)
Smoke and flames rise from a mountainside in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, on Feb. 21. [NEWS1]
HAMYANG COUNTY, South Gyeongsang — Police detained a man Monday on suspicion of setting multiple wildfires in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, including the area’s first major wildfire of the year that caused an estimated 954.49 million won ($637,000) in property damage.
Investigators identified the suspect as the arsonist once known as the “Bongdae Mountain fire squirrel” (translated), a nickname linked to a string of wildfires in Ulsan more than a decade ago.
The suspect told police he set the fires because he felt an urge to start fires, police said.
Investigators suspect the man started three wildfires between January and February, including two in Hamyang County and one in Namwon, North Jeolla. The suspect reportedly rolled up tissues he prepared in advance and lit them with a lighter.
The three fires burned a combined 237.2 hectares (586 acres) of forest. The fires destroyed 116,660 pine trees and caused property damage estimated at 969 million won.
One of the fires broke out on Feb. 21 on a mountain in Hamyang County. Firefighters contained the main flames on Feb. 23. Authorities estimate that fire alone caused 954.49 million won of the total damage, about 98.5 percent.
Police formed a dedicated investigation team immediately after the Hamyang wildfire began.
Investigators heard rumors while speaking with residents in the area that the suspect may have set the fire. Police then began examining his alibi. Investigators later confirmed the suspect’s vehicle and other traces near all three wildfire sites.
![A forestry helicopter conducts wildfire suppression operations in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, on Feb. 23. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/16/5eebb254-eefa-4c6f-b81a-05b9f958182b.jpg)
A forestry helicopter conducts wildfire suppression operations in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang, on Feb. 23. [YONHAP]
The suspect moved to Hamyang County in 2021 after leaving prison for earlier wildfire arson crimes, police said. The man received a 10-year prison sentence in 2011 for setting 37 fires on Bongdae Mountain in Ulsan, between 2004 and 2011.
Investigators at the time linked him to 96 fires between 1994 and 2011. Prosecutors charged him only with offenses that fell within the seven-year statute of limitations for wildfire arson.
Wildfires repeatedly broke out within a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) radius around Bongdae Mountain in Ulsan every winter starting in 1994. Police once offered a reward of 300 million won for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.
The suspect continued setting fires for years without being caught, which earned him the nickname “Bongdae Mountain fire squirrel.”
“I had family problems because of financial issues,” the suspect said during the initial investigation. “I feel relieved and calm when I start fires.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY AN DAE-HUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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