Lawyers and labor consultants to join fire service inspections; anonymous reporting system to be introduced nationwide

[Financial News] The NFA will expand the participation of outside experts, including lawyers and labor consultants, in internal inspections and introduce an anonymous reporting system nationwide so employees can safely report misconduct. It will also expand personnel exchanges among cities and provinces for 412 fire service commanders, while serious cases such as abuse of power and sexual misconduct will be inspected directly by the NFA.
The NFA held a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong on the afternoon of the 21st and announced comprehensive measures to overhaul the fire service's organizational culture. The measures were unveiled nearly a year after a female firefighter in her 20s, who had complained of workplace bullying, died in Gwangju last October.
The measures consist of four strategies and 10 tasks: preventing excessive leniency, conducting inspections without exceptions, protecting whistleblowers and preventing secondary harm, and fostering a culture of mutual respect through continuous organizational management.
The NFA will first seek to introduce an anonymous reporting system operated by outside experts in cities and provinces that do not currently have one. It plans to build trust in the system's anonymity by informing employees that access records, including IP addresses, will not be retained and by explaining the procedures for processing reports.
During investigations, separate investigation spaces will be provided so that the paths of whistleblowers and subjects do not overlap. Witnesses will be required to sign confidentiality pledges, and manuals for preventing secondary harm at each stage—from the receipt of a report through follow-up management—will be distributed to fire service agencies nationwide. If it is confirmed that someone suffered work-related or personnel disadvantages for reporting misconduct or participating in an investigation, that conduct will itself be subject to a separate inspection.
The NFA will also strengthen the neutrality and expertise of its inspections. The Central Special Inspection Team, formed last July, will conduct cross-regional inspections of cases from other areas. If a person accused of misconduct holds the rank of fire lieutenant colonel or higher, or if the case involves serious issues such as abuse of power or sexual misconduct, the NFA will conduct the inspection directly. The NFA will also take charge, upon a regional fire headquarters chief's request, of cases in which fairness would be difficult to ensure through a city or provincial agency's own investigation.
Six lawyers will be assigned to inspection departments, and relevant regulations will be revised to allow outside experts, including labor consultants and lawyers, to participate directly in investigations of workplace bullying cases. If a victim requests it, the Inspection Disciplinary Action Review Committee will decide whether to commission an investigation to an external professional organization. Female members will be required to participate in deliberations on sexual misconduct cases.
NFA inspectors will participate in cities' and provinces' deliberations on disciplinary levels to reduce regional disparities in the penalties imposed for the same misconduct. Managers who knowingly neglect or condone misconduct will also be held accountable.
To prevent lenient inspections based on regional ties and personal connections, personnel exchanges among cities and provinces for fire service commanders will also be expanded nationwide. The measure covers 412 people, including Fire Chiefs, who primarily serve as heads of frontline fire stations, and chief superintendents, who are at the level of regional fire headquarters chiefs.
Because city and provincial governors have personnel authority over these ranks, personnel exchanges between regions have rarely taken place. In the future, the Fire Commissioner will be able to make necessary transfer appointments when special circumstances arise, such as significant disparities in firefighting capacity among regions or disciplinary action for misconduct.
The Senior Civil Service Competency Assessment will be introduced for candidates seeking promotion to chief superintendent. Senior-level promotions, which have been handled separately by each city and province, will also be consolidated to expand promotion opportunities for firefighters affiliated with city and provincial agencies while strengthening performance evaluations and integrity screening. The NFA plans to revise relevant laws and regulations by the end of the year and begin personnel exchanges next year.
Fire Commissioner Choi Yong-cheol said, "The goal of these measures is to create an organization where people can speak up, what they say is investigated, and confirmed issues are corrected." He added, "Even if it takes time, I will see this through to the end so that employees can feel the change."

[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter