Ex-forest fire watcher who set blazes out of spite over job rejection gets 2 years in prison

A former forest fire watcher who turned to arson out of resentment over a failed job application has been sentenced to prison.

The first criminal division of the Gwangju High Court's Jeonju branch, presided over by Chief Judge Jeong Mun-gyeong, reduced the sentence of a 58-year-old defendant identified only as A from two years and six months to two years on appeal Tuesday, according to Yonhap. A had been indicted on charges of violating the Forest Disaster Prevention Act and property destruction.

A was indicted on charges of setting six fires in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, between Feb. 8 and Feb. 15 by throwing lit tissue paper and other materials into fields.

The fires, which started in parched fields during dry weather, spread to nearby forested areas on the wind.

The blazes scorched a total area of 1,695 square meters but were extinguished quickly — with no injuries — thanks to the swift response of firefighters, police officers and forest fire watchers.

About a month later, on March 8, A scattered screws in front of a vehicle belonging to another forest fire watcher, identified as B, damaging the tires.

A had worked as a forest fire watcher in Namwon from 2016 to 2025 but was not rehired this year. Investigators found he had decided to set fires in the mountains out of frustration over the rejection.

The appeals court said A "had worked as a forest fire watcher in the past and was well aware of the dangers of forest fires, yet repeatedly set fires in forested areas, making him highly culpable." It added that the human and material resources consumed — including the large number of firefighting personnel and vehicles dispatched — were considerable.

The court also noted that the crimes were committed during a period of heightened forest fire prevention, when dry conditions and strong winds created a significant risk of a large-scale fire, and ruled that even taking into account that the fires did not spread widely, a custodial sentence was unavoidable.