Fallout from 'Fiscal Straw' Controversy... Will Government Budget Cover Firefighters' Personnel Costs?

"Increase National Funding for Firefighting": Related Bills Introduced One After Another
Kim Jae-seop, Chung Cheong-rae and Lee Eon-ju: "National Government Should Cover Firefighting Personnel Costs"
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Following the so-called “fiscal siphon” controversy, calls are growing for the central government to take greater responsibility for fire service funding, and related bills are being introduced in the National Assembly. A tug-of-war is expected over how to expand central government budget support, including whether to amend the law so that the central government directly covers firefighters’ personnel costs or to increase general-purpose funding for local governments.

According to the National Assembly’s bill information system and lawmakers’ offices on Oct. 22, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jaeseop and Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Chung Cheong-rae have each introduced amendments to the Act on Financial Support for Fire Services and Establishment of Special Metropolitan and Provincial Fire Service Accounts (Fire Services Accounting Act) to increase central government funding for fire services. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Eon-ju has also announced plans to introduce a related bill through social media and other channels.

Firefighters who extinguished a fire at the International Conference Hall of the Korean Buddhist History and Culture Memorial Hall, next to Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul, leave the building. June 10, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun.

Kim’s bill would provide government funding from the central government’s general account to cover the portion of personnel costs remaining after deducting the amounts covered by the Fire Safety Grant Tax and the Local Resource Facility Tax. Chung’s bill would also require the state to cover any shortfall in revenue in the personnel costs account.

Lee has announced plans to introduce an amendment to the Fire Services Accounting Act requiring the state to cover at least 80 percent of the total personnel costs for firefighters employed by each metropolitan or provincial government. Her bill is also expected to require the central government to provide, from its general account, the amount it is responsible for after excluding the portion of personnel costs covered by the Fire Safety Grant Tax.

Within the ruling party, there are calls to seriously consider measures that would increase the government’s responsibility for fire services. Kwon Chil-seung, the Democratic Party’s policy committee chair, previously said on the issue, “It is true that fire service budgets rely heavily on local governments rather than the central government. This makes it inevitable that efforts to address disparities in fire service funding—the purpose of transferring firefighters to national-government status—as well as improvements to firefighters’ safety and working conditions will be difficult. We must establish a stable financial foundation to ensure the safety of the public and firefighters.”

However, the issue could also be addressed as a matter of budget allocation or local government finances in general, rather than through institutional reforms such as amendments to the Fire Services Accounting Act.

After a meeting on preparations for the parliamentary audit on Oct. 22, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Kim Seong-hoe was asked by reporters whether legislative initiatives related to fire services were being pursued. He said, “The financial problem is not caused by deficiencies in the law,” adding, “The ruling party and the government need to consult and exchange views on how to allocate the budget.”

The previous day, Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong-geun told reporters at the ministry’s press room, “I think this is an issue that should be assessed comprehensively by looking at how much grant funding has actually decreased and what effect that has had on local governments, as well as the current financial situation of each local government’s special fire service account.” He added, “If necessary, at the stage of the National Assembly’s review of the budget bill, we will examine what needs further improvement by comprehensively considering the effects of the individual consumption tax, local governments’ fiscal capacity, and whether the central government’s support to date has been sufficient.”

Lee Sang-min, a senior research fellow at the Nara Salim Research Institute, said, “Although firefighters are employed by the national government, fire service operations themselves are local government functions. Therefore, general-purpose funding for local governments should be increased rather than fire service-specific funding.” He added, “I believe that grants and other sources of general-purpose funding for local governments should be increased to expand local governments’ responsibility.”

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