[Viewpoint] A Country Where Firefighters Are Respected

"My son says he wants to be a firefighter. I want to talk him out of it, but that's not easy either..." A while ago, an acquaintance suddenly brought up his son's career plans. I casually replied, "Being a firefighter is cool," but the conversation left me feeling uneasy. It was hard to readily tell someone else's precious child to take up such a dangerous job. Dangerous fire scenes, degrading emergency calls, and grueling shifts came to mind first. Just a few days later, the tragic news came that a firefighter had died in a fire in Bucheon. Once again, a firefighter had rushed into the flames to save lives and protect the public's property, only to meet a tragic end. Four firefighters have lost their lives this way just this year.

In Korea, being a firefighter is a job that is hard to endure. Firefighters' complaints have gone largely unaddressed: "There are far too few firefighters," "We use outdated equipment," "Our working hours are too long," "The introduction of advanced equipment is too slow," and "Pay and working conditions vary by region." Paramedics deployed to all kinds of accident scenes are still assaulted by intoxicated people and often struggle to deal with a flood of complaints. The biggest problem is the shortage of fire service funding.

Last year, the fire service budget was 8.1478 trillion won. Of that, funding allocated by the central government accounted for 10.7%, or 869.7 billion won. Local governments allocated the rest. This is because firefighting duties themselves remain the responsibility of local governments, even though firefighters became national civil servants in 2020. The controversial remark by Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae about a "straw sucking up fire service funds" came amid a reallocation of local government budgets. Setting aside the inappropriateness of Governor Choo's remark, it is worth asking whether the current budget system is desirable.

The central government and local governments have long been at odds over fire service funding. Local governments have called for expanded central government support for personnel costs, while the central government has insisted that local governments resolve the matter themselves. In particular, the Fire Safety Grant Tax, a major source of fire service funding, has been steadily declining as tobacco consumption falls. Differences in local governments' fiscal self-sufficiency also persist, leaving regional disparities unresolved. From the public's perspective, it does not matter whether the money comes from the right pocket or the left: they want the government to allocate an adequate budget to keep them safe. The president or the National Assembly should step in and resolve the budget dispute between the central government and local governments.

In the United States, firefighters are among the most respected professionals. Respect for firefighters deepened especially after the 9/11 attacks. The sacrifices they made during rescue operations at the time helped make them heroes. And it is not just firefighters. Members of professions devoted to serving the public, such as soldiers and nurses, are not only respected by the public; the government also takes active steps to ensure they receive appropriate compensation and working conditions.

I hope the day comes soon when, if someone says they want to be a firefighter, we can respond without hesitation: "I hope you get to pursue this noble profession."

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