‘Budget drains’—they ultimately lost their lives in the fire... Outrage: “Choo Mi-ae, get on your knees and apologize”

[Financial News] Controversy over Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae’s “fire-service budget drain” remark is growing after a firefighter in their 40s who responded to a fire at a paint factory in Bucheon ultimately died.

Fire authorities said on the 17th that a fire broke out the previous day at a metal-parts coating plant in Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, killing one firefighter and injuring seven people, including five firefighters.
Two firefighters in their 40s deployed to fight the initial blaze suffered serious injuries after inhaling smoke as the flames spread. One regained consciousness after being taken to hospital, but the other, who was transported in cardiac arrest, reportedly died early that morning while receiving treatment.
As news spread that firefighters had been killed and injured, criticism also mounted over remarks Gov. Choo made during a parliamentary audit three days earlier. On the 13th, during the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea’s Public Administration and Security Committee audit of Gyeonggi Province, Choo responded to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin about expanding funding for the fire service, saying, “The fire service seems like the biggest, most troublesome drain on public finances.”
Gov. Choo reportedly explained that fire-service personnel costs in 2027 would reach 1.1 trillion won and program costs around 500 billion won, bringing spending on the fire service alone to 1.7 trillion won, even though its employees are national civil servants. Her point was that local governments continue to cover a significant share of personnel and program costs even after firefighters became national civil servants in 2020.
The fire service union pushed back, calling the wording inappropriate because it shifted responsibility for the financial burden onto firefighters. In a statement, the Fire Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees’ Union expressed outrage, saying firefighters had been dismissed as a source of budget waste or a financial burden. It criticized the governor, saying that if reliance on local finances was the problem, it was her duty to call on the government to increase national funding.
The Firefighters’ Union of the Korean Confederation of Government Employees’ Unions also said that treating firefighters as if they drained public finances trampled on the pride of frontline personnel. It pointed out that the failure to resolve the structural contradictions arising from the shift to national civil-service status was the responsibility of politics and administration.
Gyeonggi Province explained that the remark was intended to emphasize that local governments bear most of the fire-service costs while the share of central government funding is declining, and said there was no intent to disparage firefighters.
Lee Yong-woo, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a written briefing the previous day that he apologized to firefighters and their families who had been hurt by the remark, adding that he took seriously the fact that their hard work and pride had not been sufficiently taken into account.
But calls for an apology grew louder after a firefighter responding to a fire in the governor’s jurisdiction died. A fire union official demanded, “After seeing firefighters collapse at this fire scene, how can you still say the fire service is a drain on public finances?” and urged her to “get on your knees and apologize immediately.”

The previous day, Gov. Choo canceled her scheduled engagements, visited the fire scene and comforted firefighters. A firefighter in soot-stained turnout gear was also seen with head bowed and appearing close to tears.
“I am grateful for the firefighters’ courage, dedication and hard work,” Gov. Choo said. “We will also immediately take steps to inspect sites handling hazardous materials in advance and strengthen preventive efforts.” However, when reporters asked about her “budget drain” remark, she reportedly avoided answering, saying, “Don’t talk about that.”
President Lee Jae-myung also wished the injured firefighters a speedy recovery at the opening ceremony of the National Sports Festival the previous day, saying that even a fortune would not be too much to give firefighters who risk their lives in service to protect the lives and safety of the public.
Gyeonggi Province plans to provide full support for the injured firefighters’ treatment to help them recover as quickly as possible, while stepping up advance inspections and prevention efforts at businesses handling hazardous materials.
[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter