▲ This photo, provided by a Yonhap reader, shows a blaze burning on a mountain in the southeastern county of Cheongsong, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 25, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) justice ministry-wildfires

(LEAD) Authorities transferring inmates from prisons in Andong, Cheongsong amid wildfires

(ATTN: REVISES number of inmates in lead; ADDS more details throughout; TRIMS)

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- The justice ministry said Tuesday it began procedures to transfer some 3,500 inmates from correctional facilities in the southeastern county of Cheongsong and Andong, as wildfires were spreading fast around the region.

Correctional officials decided to move the convicts to nearby correctional facilities, the ministry said, without providing more details.

The Gyeongbuk Northern Correctional Facility, consisting of three correctional facilities and one rehabilitation center for vocational training, holds around 2,700 prisoners. About 800 inmates are held in Andong prison.

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