By Sama Marwan,
South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, has ordered the urgent evacuation of residents from areas affected by the raging wildfires in the country’s southeast, which have been burning for several days.
According to the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) on Tuesday, Han issued an emergency directive to local governments in areas where evacuation orders had been issued, urging them to mobilize all administrative resources to ensure the safe and swift evacuation of residents.
Han also instructed the Korea Forest Service to deploy all available personnel and equipment, in cooperation with local governments, firefighting authorities, and the military, to extinguish the fires as quickly as possible.
KBS reported that the historic village of Hahoe, located in Andong and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is at risk after strong winds spread a wildfire to an area about 10 kilometers from the village, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders.
Other cultural heritage sites at risk include the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy in Andong, which may fall within the wildfire’s reach.
Earlier, the South Korean government announced that the fires had burned 14,694 hectares of forest, caused 15 injuries, including four fatalities, and displaced more than 3,300 people.
