South Korea Mulls Residence Visa for Indonesian Who Rescue Elderly Village from Wildfires

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korea’s Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, April 1, is reportedly considering a long-term residence visa for Sugianto, an Indonesian citizen who saved elderly locals from the wildfires that ran rampant in the East Asian country last week.

As reported by South Korean media, dkilbo, the acting Minister of Justice, Kim Seok-woo, is considering granting an F2 visa or long-term residence visa to Sugianto, an Indonesian sailor who has been living in Yeongdeok-gun for the past few years.

The long-term residence status is granted by the Minister of Justice to an individual deemed to have made a special contribution to the Republic of Korea or to have contributed to the promotion of public interests.

When the wildfire broke out in Uiseong on March 25 and hit Yeongdeok-gun, 31-year-old Sugianto went around the village with the head of the fishing village, Myung-shin, and informed the residents about the fire. He shouted and urged the residents to evacuate.

In the process, he carried elderly residents with limited mobility on his back to the breakwater in front of the village, which was 300 meters away.

As it was late at night, most residents were asleep, so Sugianto and the village head ran from house to house to announce the forest fire.

Sugianto shouted, "Grandma, there's a fire in the mountains, we need to evacuate quickly."

An elderly resident in her 90s who was able to evacuate said, "If it weren't for him, we would all die. I was asleep watching TV, but when I woke up to the sound of the fire outside, I looked out the door, and I was able to escape thanks to Sugianto, who carried me on his back.”

The Indonesian man has been in South Korea for eight years, entering with a work visa and working as a sailor. He has a wife and a 5-year-old son in his home country of Indonesia.

“I love Korea,” he said. “The village residents are like a family to me.”

"After three years, I have to go back home. I received a phone call from my wife in my hometown saying she was proud. I feel honored because no one was injured in the wildfire."

Thanks to Sugianto's help, 60 village residents survived the wildfire with no injuries.

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