Government Employees' Federation Discusses Institutional Reforms in Firefighting and Education with Chairman Youngjin Kim of the Administration and Security Committee

Proposal for New "Safety Medal" for Fallen Firefighters
and Expansion of National Firefighters Hospital

Call for Improved Responsibility System for Fire Safety Management in Schools

The Federation of Government Employees' Unions under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the National Firefighters' Safety Government Employees Union, and the Education Office Policy Planning Committee held a meeting on September 11 with Assemblyman Youngjin Kim, Chairman of the National Assembly Administration and Security Committee. During the meeting, they agreed to jointly address and improve institutional issues faced in the field by firefighters and administrative officials in education.

At the meeting held at the National Assembly, participants including Donggeun Shin, Chairman of the Public Officials Union (fifth from the left), Youngjin Kim, Chairman of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee (sixth), and Suntak Hong, Central Chairman of the Firefighters' Union (seventh) are taking a commemorative photo. Courtesy of the Public Officials Union.

The main topics discussed at the meeting included strengthening the recognition and benefits for firefighters killed in the line of duty, improving the system for national merit recipients, expanding the National Firefighters Hospital, and enhancing the system of responsibility for fire safety management in schools.

The Firefighters' Union argued that fallen firefighters should be honored based on the "value of sacrifice" rather than rank. They proposed the establishment of a new "Safety Medal" (provisional name) separate from the existing Order of Civil Merit. In addition, they pointed out that the type of national merit recipient varies depending on whether the incident occurred before or after the 2011 legal amendment, and requested the creation of special provisions that would allow existing registrants to re-register according to the current standards.

The Firefighters' Union also emphasized that the National Firefighters Hospital should be developed as a national medical hub that goes beyond merely providing medical services to include special health check-ups for firefighters, disease tracking and management, and specialized research and development in firefighting. To this end, they proposed allocating 200 million KRW from the national budget for a feasibility study regarding the expansion of firefighting medical research and development (R&D) centers and health examination centers.

The Education Office Policy Committee pointed out that, in relation to the "Regulations on Fire Safety Management of Public Institutions," schools should not be treated the same as general public institutions. They argued that if school principals delegate the position of fire safety management and supervision to administrative managers, it could lead to non-specialists being held responsible and cause confusion in task assignments. They emphasized the need to establish special regulations for schools and mandate the provision of professional personnel and budget support from local and educational autonomous bodies.

The Government Employees' Federation also requested improvements to guarantee the basic political rights of civil servants, such as freedom of political expression, party membership, and political donations.

Chairman Youngjin Kim responded to these proposals by pledging to work alongside members of the Administration and Security Committee to resolve these issues through parliamentary inspection inquiries and policy consultations with relevant ministries. The Government Employees' Federation announced its intention to continue communication and cooperation so that the voices from the field in firefighting and education lead to substantive institutional improvements by the National Assembly and government.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.