Firefighters gather at National Assembly, venting their anger: “Do we have to die to be heroes?”

[Financial News] Firefighters angered by Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae’s remark that the fire service was “a siphon on public funds” gathered at the National Assembly on the 21st. They said they would absolutely not back down until the political community promised to restore the honor tarnished by Choo’s remark, expand fire service-related budgets, and improve firefighters’ working conditions.
Song Young-gil, a Democratic Party lawmaker, and the Firefighters’ Union of the Korean Federation of Public Officials’ Trade Unions held a press conference on the steps of the National Assembly’s main building that day, criticizing the recent remark that the fire service was “a siphon on public funds” and calling for improvements to firefighters’ working conditions, among other things.
“I sincerely apologize for the remarks by a local government head and a lawmaker from our party that have recently sparked controversy,” Song said. “This must not end with an apology; we must face and resolve the structural problems in fire service funding that lie behind these remarks.”
He pointed to the structural contradiction of making firefighters national government employees while leaving local governments to foot the bill for fire service funding. He urged the government to establish a “Task Force on Normalizing Fire Service Funding and Improving Working Conditions” and called for it to take on greater responsibility for fire service funding.
He also pledged legislative and budgetary support to ensure stable funding for the Fire Safety Grant Tax at the National Assembly level, increase the national government’s share of personnel costs, bring firefighting allowances in line with actual conditions, and strengthen the state’s responsibility for firefighters who die in the line of duty.
At the press conference, the firefighters’ union held signs reading, “A siphon on public funds while alive, a hero only when dead?” and criticized the recent controversial remarks by politicians.
Lee Chang-seok, head of the firefighters’ union, vented his outrage at the press conference, saying Choo’s remarks had brought firefighters’ honor to rock bottom. “What on earth are firefighters in this country?” he said. “The recent verbal abuse by some politicians has left firefighters across the country with wounds that will never heal. We are people who put our own lives on the line to protect the lives and property of the public.”
He added, “They used vulgar expressions like ‘straw’ and ‘sucking it all up’ about firefighters like us.” He lamented, “What is even sadder is that this is true. ‘An unproductive organization that only breaks even, even when it does well’—that is how South Korea views the fire service.”
“We know that all too well, which makes it even more heartbreaking. Is death all we get in return for risking our lives to protect the people and the country? At least 10 firefighters die every year. Firefighters cannot flee from danger at the scene just because it is dangerous. When everyone else runs from danger, we run into it,” he said.
After the press conference that day, Lee told a reporter, referring to the Democratic Party’s decision that day to issue warnings to Governor Choo and lawmaker Boo Seung-chan: “Alongside warnings to the individuals involved, I hope the party will drive tangible changes in areas such as systems and budgets to address the root causes.”
[email protected] Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter