South Korea’s National Fire Agency reported that fires started by discarded cigarette butts caused 154 billion won ($104.7 million) in property damage over the past five years, highlighting the growing risks as winter fire season begins. From 2020 to 2024, the country recorded 191,510 fires, 743 of which were linked to discarded cigarettes. Nearly 40% of fires with casualties occurred from December to March due to heavy use of heating equipment and dry conditions.
Authorities also said that cigarette-related fires, along with electrical faults, were among the leading causes of large-scale factory and warehouse fires, involving losses of over 10 billion won ($6.8 million).