“I’ll set fire to Choo Mi-ae’s official residence”... Man in his 60s booked after calling 119, angered by “fiscal siphon” remark

[The Financial News] A man in his 60s was apprehended by police after calling 119 to report that he would set fire to the Gyeonggi governor’s official residence, angered by Governor Choo Mi-ae’s so-called “fiscal siphon” remark about the fire service.
On the 16th, according to the JoongAng Ilbo and other outlets, Busan’s Haeundae Police Station said it had booked a man in his 60s, identified as A, without detention on suspicion of obstructing the performance of official duties by deceptive means, and was investigating him.
A is suspected of calling 119 at around 10:26 a.m. the previous day and threatening, “I got so angry watching the news that I’ll set fire to Choo Mi-ae’s official residence.”
After receiving the emergency call, police arrested A at a hospital in Busan where he was hospitalized, at around 11:25 a.m.—about an hour after the call—as a suspect caught in the act.
A reportedly told police during questioning that, in essence, “I’ve always loved and respected the fire service, but I got angry and made the call after watching TV and hearing Governor Choo say at the parliamentary audit that ‘the fire service is a fiscal siphon.’”
The investigation found that A was neither a firefighter nor employed in a related industry.
Police are investigating the specific circumstances of the case.
At the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea’s Public Administration and Security Committee audit on the 13th, Governor Choo made remarks about the fire service budget that sparked controversy, including, “The fire service seems like the biggest, most troublesome fiscal siphon,” “It eats up 1.1 trillion won,” and “1.7 trillion won will be spent.”
The Firefighting Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees’ Union pushed back against Governor Choo’s remarks and called for an official apology.
The union’s Firefighting Headquarters said, “You dismissed firefighters, who work around the clock to protect the lives and property of the public, as nothing more than a source of budget waste and a fiscal burden,” and called on her to “apologize immediately and sincerely before 70,000 firefighters for damaging their honor with remarks such as ‘fiscal siphon’ and ‘eats up.’”
The Korean Fire Officers’ Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), also issued a statement expressing regret.
The Korean Fire Officers’ Union criticized the government, saying, “The fire service is not a siphon that drains someone’s pocket but the last line of defense the public can rely on,” and, “The government takes credit for making firefighters national government employees, while still shifting personnel costs onto local governments.”
As the controversy grew, Gyeonggi Province explained, “The remarks were intended to highlight the reality that local governments bear most of the related costs even after firefighters became national government employees, while the share of funding from the central government is actually declining.” It also said, “We deeply appreciate the hard work of Gyeonggi Province’s firefighters and will work to secure stable funding for the fire service.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter