FIREFIGHTERS AS NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKERS

[Anchor Lead]

Firefighters in Korea are currently classified as either national or local public servants. Most of them are managed by provinces, which means different firefighting equipment and treatment for firefighters by region. The National Assembly has passed a bill that paves the way for designating all firefighters in Korea as national public servants for the first time in 47 years.

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The National Assembly has passed six bills on granting firefighters national public servant status. They include the Framework Act on Firefighting Services and the Local Public Service Act. Since 1973, firefighters in Korea have been classified into either national or local public servants. But the new bill paves the way for their designation as national public servants for the first time in 47 years. Of some 54,000 firefighters nationwide, only 1.3 percent are national public servants. Firefighters managed by local governments that struggle financially receive poor treatment and face harsh working conditions. For example, ambulances carrying three people in the city of Seoul usually arrive within 5 minutes, whereas in rural areas it takes 20 minutes to dispatch two people. Calls for granting the national public servant status to firefighters gained strength after the massive wildfires in Gangwon-do Province back in April. However, the parliament kept postponing discussions on the issue multiple times. The breakthrough was finally reached when rival parties agreed to solve the issue of labor costs by increasing the fire safety shared tax.

[Soundbite] CHO SEON-HO(SPOKESPERSON, NATIONAL FIRE AGENCY) : "Labor shortages will be solved through state funding so that the public can receive firefighting services of higher quality."

Firefighters in Korea will receive national public servant status in April next year after the new regulations are legislated.