SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Unprecedented wildfires ripping through South Korea’s southern regions have destroyed large parts of an ancient Buddhist temple complex, burning down two buildings that had been designated national treasures.
Five days of wildfires, considered among South Korea’s worst, have left 24 people dead, destroyed more than 300 structures and forced more than 28,000 residents to evacuate, officials said Wednesday.
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A burnt-out fishing boat is seen at a damaged port due to wildfires in Yeongdeok, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yun Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
A person walks past houses destroyed by wildfires at a village in Yeongyang, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yun Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
A bell is seen broken at the remains of the bell pavilion due to wildfires at Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)
The remains of burnt-out pavilions due to wildfires are seen at the Gounsa temple in Uiseong, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)
Pavilions are seen at the Gounsa temple in Uiseong, South Korea, Feb. 11, 2025. (Baek Seung-reol/Yonhap via AP)
The Gounsa temple was reportedly originally built in 681 A.D. during the Shilla dynasty that ruled more than half of the Korean Peninsula. It is nestled at the foot of Deungun Mountain in the southeastern town of Uiseong. While it doesn’t house buildings constructed during that ancient period, it is home to several famous cultural heritages built later.
The temple was engulfed in flames on Tuesday as strong winds fanned the wildfires. About 20 of its 30 buildings and structures were completely burned down, including the revered Gaunru, a pavilion-shaped structure built in 1668 overlooking a stream, and Yeonsujeon, built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king, according to the state-run Korea Heritage Service.
Both were constructed during the Joseon dynasty, the last one on the Korean Peninsula, and were given the government designation of “treasure,” a status given to old buildings, paintings and other cultural assets with historic and artistic significance and which receive state-level protection and maintenance.
“I went there this morning and found they’ve been reduced to heaps of ashes," said Doryun, a senior monk who had lived at the temple for more than three years when he was younger. "I feel really empty. Life is transient.”
Doryun now works for a Buddhist organization in charge of the temple. He said that monks and Buddhist faithful managed to move the temple's third “treasure,” a stone Buddha statue reportedly built in the 8th century, to a safe place.
“Many buildings were burned down, but we moved and protected other sacred assets so that we can maintain the temple. We feel it’s very fortunate,” Doryun told The Associated Press over the phone.
Doryun also said about 20 monks and other workers live at the temple, but none have been injured.
The Korea Heritage Service said the temple’s two other lower-level cultural assets, including a stone pagoda, have also been found intact.
A burnt-out fishing boat is seen at a damaged port due to wildfires in Yeongdeok, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yun Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
A person walks past houses destroyed by wildfires at a village in Yeongyang, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yun Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
A bell is seen broken at the remains of the bell pavilion due to wildfires at Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)
The remains of burnt-out pavilions due to wildfires are seen at the Gounsa temple in Uiseong, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap via AP)
Pavilions are seen at the Gounsa temple in Uiseong, South Korea, Feb. 11, 2025. (Baek Seung-reol/Yonhap via AP)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges accusing her of helping a man in the country illegally evade U.S. immigration authorities who were looking to arrest him in her courthouse.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan entered the plea during a brief arraignment in federal court. Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries set a July trial date. Dugan’s lead attorney, Steven Biskupic, told the judge that he anticipates the trial will last a week.
Dugan, her lawyers and prosecutors left after the hearing without speaking to reporters.
She is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back door on April 18 after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking to arrest him for being in the country illegally. She could face up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts.
Her attorneys say she’s innocent. They filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss the case, saying she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and therefore is immune to prosecution. They also maintain the federal government violated Wisconsin’s state sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.
Dugan's arrest has escalated a clash between Trump administration and Democrats over the president’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse ahead of Thursday's hearing, with some holding signs that read, “Only Fascists Arrest Judges -- Drop the Charges,” “Department of Justice Over-Reach” and “Keep Your Hands Off Our Judges!!” The crowd chanted “Due process rights,” “Hands off our freedom,” and “Si se puede” — Spanish for “Yes, we can” — which is a rallying cry for immigrant rights advocates.
One man stood alone across the street holding a Trump flag.
According to court documents, Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013. Online court records show he was charged with three counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse in Milwaukee County in March, and he was in Dugan’s courtroom on April 18 for a hearing in that case.
According to an FBI affidavit, Dugan was alerted to the agents’ presence by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that the agents appeared to be in the hallway. Dugan was visibly angry and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers, the affidavit contends. She and another judge later approached members of the arrest team in the courthouse with what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”
After a back-and-forth with the agents over the warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them from the courtroom, according to the affidavit.
After she returned to the courtroom, witnesses heard her say something to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through a door typically used only by deputies, jurors, court staff and in-custody defendants, the affidavit alleges. Flores-Ruiz was free on a signature bond in the abuse case, according to online state court records. Federal agents ultimately detained him outside the courthouse after a foot chase.
The state Supreme Court suspended Dugan last week, saying the move was necessary to preserve public confidence in the judiciary. She was freed after her arrest.
John Vaudreuil, a former federal prosecutor in Wisconsin who isn’t involved in Dugan’s or Flores-Ruiz’s cases, said the Trump administration seems to want to make an example out of Dugan. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi or Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, rather than the U.S. attorney in Milwaukee, are likely making the decisions on how to proceed, making it less likely prosecutors will reduce the charges against Dugan in a deal, he said.
Her attorneys will likely try to push the case to a jury trial, Vaudreuil said, because they know that “people feel very strongly about the way the president and administration is conducting immigration policy.”
Dugan is represented by some of Wisconsin's most accomplished lawyers. Biskupic was a federal prosecutor for 20 years and served seven years as U.S. attorney in Milwaukee. Paul Clement, meanwhile, is a former U.S. solicitor general who has argued more than 100 cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Both were appointed to jobs by former Republican President George W. Bush.
Associated Press writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
Supporters of Judge Hannah Dugan protest outside the United States Federal Building and Courthouse in Milwaukee, Wis. on Thursday, April 15, 2025 ahead of Dugan's arraignment on charges that she helped a man in the country illegally evade arrest by immigration authorities. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
Supporters of Judge Hannah Dugan protest outside the United States Federal Building and Courthouse in Milwaukee, Wis. on Thursday, April 15, 2025 ahead of Dugan's arraignment on charges that she helped a man in the country illegally evade arrest by immigration authorities. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
Supporters of Judge Hannah Dugan protest outside the United States Federal Building and Courthouse in Milwaukee, Wis. on Thursday, April 15, 2025 ahead of Dugan's arraignment on charges that she helped a man in the country illegally evade arrest by immigration authorities. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
FILE - Judge Hannah Dugan poses for a photo in Milwaukee in 2016. (Lee Matz/Milwaukee Independent via AP, File)
