South Korean village mourns leader and family killed trying to flee wildfires

A burnt vehicle, in which a village leader Kwon and his wife were found dead while they were on their way back to their village to rescue other people during a wildfire, lies on the side of a road, in Yeongyang, South Korea, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

YEONGYANG, South Korea (Reuters) - As the flames of a raging wildfire swept towards the town of Samui-ri in South Korea's mountainous southeast this week, a village leader surnamed Kwon rushed home to try to help his family and neighbours.

Instead, his body and those of his wife and another family member were found hours later on Tuesday, near the burnt-out hulk of their car on the road to the village, which escaped intact South Korea's worst wildfires that killed at least 28.