Amid 'Financial Straw' Controversy, Gyeonggi Province Cuts Memorial Budget for Fallen Firefighters

The controversy surrounding Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's remarks about a 'financial straw' for firefighting has expanded to include reduced budgets for firefighter vehicle reinforcement and the complete elimination of memorial project funding for fallen firefighters.

According to Gyeonggi Province and political circles on the 17th, the People Power Party's Gyeonggi Province chapter stated in a position paper the previous day that the province reduced the firefighter vehicle reinforcement budget by 2.65 billion won in the supplementary budget and scaled back vehicle procurement plans from the originally planned 103 units to 78 units.

This represents a reduction of 25 vehicles (24.3%) from the original plan. The Gyeonggi Provincial Council's Committee on Safety and Administration also expressed concerns during the supplementary budget review about delays in replacing aged firefighter vehicles and a contraction in investment for on-site response capabilities.

A budget of 100 million won for the 'Gyeonggi Firefighting 119 Memorial Day' project to honor fallen firefighters was also completely eliminated. The project, which was first implemented last year, is an event where bereaved families, fellow firefighters, and provincial residents gather to honor the sacrifice of the fallen. Gyeonggi Province initially stated it would establish this as a regular representative memorial project carried out annually, but it became a budget cut target after just one year.

The Future Firefighting United Labor Union stated that while event projects can be reorganized depending on financial conditions, the same standard should not be applied to memorializing the fallen and honoring bereaved families, and urged the restoration of the budget.

The province explained that it reduced event-related spending because the original project budget included 70 million won in outsourced service fees and planned activities such as a 30-firefighter vehicle caravan. The province stated it would proceed with the memorial event as scheduled on the 24th using the Fire Headquarters' administrative management funds and ensure there are no disruptions to honoring bereaved families.

These budget reductions were included in the supplementary budget compiled before Governor Choo's parliamentary inspection remarks. However, as details of the budget cuts became known following the remarks characterizing firefighting budgets as a burden on local finances, controversy over the province's firefighting budget management has grown.

Earlier, Governor Choo stated on the 13th during the province's parliamentary inspection by the National Assembly's Committee on Administration and Safety that in explaining the need for expanded national funding support for firefighting budgets: "Firefighting is like the biggest troublesome financial straw."

Governor Choo argued that despite firefighters transitioning to national government employees, the province must bear approximately 1.7 trillion won in total, including personnel costs of 1.1 trillion won and project expenses of about 500 billion won based on 2027 standards, while national funding support accounts for only about 9%.

The province explained that the remarks were intended to point out the fiscal structure in which local governments bear most firefighting budgets even after the transition to national employees. However, firefighter labor unions are demanding a direct apology, saying the remarks damaged the honor and pride of on-site personnel.

The Integrated Firefighters Public Employee Labor Union has been conducting solo protests in front of Gyeonggi Provincial Government since the 15th, and the Democratic Party also issued a written briefing through spokesperson Lee Yong-woo on the 16th, offering an official apology to firefighters and their families.

However, Governor Choo has not yet made a direct statement. On the 16th, when reporters asked about her position on the matter, she reportedly evaded the response by saying, "Don't mention that."

The People Power Party's Gyeonggi Province chapter stated, "Apologize to firefighters and take responsibility for safety with substantive budgets and policies," and urged the province to present supplementary measures to offset the vehicle procurement plan reduction and plans to expand on-site safety investments.