Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae urged the state to increase its funding responsibility, saying local governments are shouldering most of the personnel costs of national-level firefighters. She raised the firefighting finance issue again after apologizing for causing controversy with remarks about firefighting.
In a post on Facebook on the 23rd, Governor Choo said, "An important purpose of the shift to national-level status was to resolve the problem of firefighters' treatment and public safety varying with a region's fiscal circumstances, but even after their status changed to national-level, the fiscal burden still remains with local governments."
According to figures Choo presented, Gyeonggi firefighter personnel costs this year are 1.1973 trillion won, of which national funding is 92.1 billion won (7.7%). The share Gyeonggi covers with its own budget is 1.1052 trillion won, or 92.3%. She said the current structure, in which regions with concentrated firefighting demand also bear the cost, must change.
Choo also pointed out that industrial facilities are concentrated in Gyeonggi. As of last year, there were about 79,000 registered factories in the province, accounting for 43.6% of the national total. From 2019 to 2023, a total of 4,336 factory fires occurred in the province, averaging about 867 a year. Choo explained that while Gyeonggi fire services are responsible for safety at industrial sites, related taxes go to the state and cities and counties, making it hard to increase the provincial budget.
The fact that the national funding source is linked to the tobacco portion of the individual consumption tax was also cited as a problem. She said it is not appropriate for the firefighting budget, which protects people's lives and safety, to depend on tobacco sales.
Choo acknowledged that improving firefighters' safety and treatment is a duty Gyeonggi Province must bear, but said local governments' fiscal circumstances must be taken into account. This is because, besides firefighter personnel costs, welfare budgets for residents such as school meals, support for improving the treatment of daycare teachers and postpartum care support must also be secured. She asked the government, the National Assembly and the Democratic Party's Policy Committee to arrange funding at the national level.
Choo had earlier drawn criticism at the Gyeonggi Province parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the 13th, when she raised the firefighting budget burden and said, "Firefighting is like the biggest troublesome fiscal straw." On the 17th, she visited the funeral altar of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok, who died in the line of duty in the Bucheon factory fire, and said, "Since you want an apology, I apologize with all my heart." The Democratic Party issued a warning to Choo.
In this post, Choo again expressed her intention to look after firefighters' safety and treatment first, and repeated her demand that the state share more of firefighter personnel costs in keeping with the purpose of the shift to national-level status.