On May 8, 2025, the Wildfire Response Research Task Force (TF) of the National Assembly Research Service (Chief Kwan Hu, Lee) met with Gyeongnam Institute (GI) for a regional field forum under the theme "Tackling Wildfire Damage in Gyeongnam and How to Respond to Large-Scale Wildfires" at the Nammyung Gyeongui Hall of the GI. The field forum aimed to come up with measures in response to severe wildfire disasters, particularly those similar to the simultaneous outbreaks in Yeongnam since March 22, as well as to establish recovery and support measures. To achieve this goal, the task force visited the affected Gyeongsangnam-do area to gather input from local forestry, fire, and disaster officials, as well as representatives from the Korean Red Cross and GI's disaster specialists, and so forth.

At the forum, GI Researcher Lee Ji Sung outlined proposals for future wildfire management. His presentation highlighted key issues such as the current status and problems of the existing wildfire response system, including confusion within the command chain; shortages in local government firefighting staff and equipment; the need for a southern regional wildfire prevention center to bolster area-wide response; a call for special legislation to speed up recovery and ensure practical support; and the importance of preventing secondary disasters like landslides. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion. Participants in the discussion and the Q&A session voiced several needs: strengthening wildfire response at the regional fire department level; amending the Disaster Relief Act to improve relief systems and enhance the role of private aid groups; building a large-scale wildfire management system using AI and other advanced technologies; providing higher wages and better equipment for specialized local government wildfire teams; broadening the criteria for damage recovery; and refining the response phase system of wildfire events.

The NARS intends to use the insights from this forum to closely examine the existing problems of the wildfire response systems and to develop comprehensive measures, covering the full cycle of prevention, firefighting, and recovery.