Firefighters' hazard allowances frozen for decades

Rep. Choi: 'Hazard pay cannot be left to discretion alone'

Rep. Choi Su-jin of the People Power Party. [Yonhap]
Rep. Choi Su-jin of the People Power Party. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Choi Su-jin on Wednesday introduced a bill to legally guarantee hazard compensation for firefighters, a measure her office is calling the "Firefighter Life Allowance Act" — a partial amendment to the Fire Officials Act.

The bill comes amid renewed calls for better treatment of firefighting personnel following the death of Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok at a factory fire scene in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Its core provision is to enshrine in law the hazard duty allowance and fire suppression allowance that firefighters currently receive.

Under the existing framework, the legal basis for those payments rests solely in presidential decree, which critics say has allowed the allowances to be frozen for extended periods. According to Choi's office, the fire suppression allowance has not been raised since it was set at 80,000 won ($60) per month in 2001. The per-dispatch bonus paid for each fire, rescue or emergency response call has also remained unchanged at 3,000 won since 2014. Choi's office said that when Statistics Korea's consumer price index is applied, the real value of the fire suppression allowance has fallen roughly 44 percent compared with its 2001 level.

The National Fire Agency has not been silent on the issue. Choi's office said the agency had repeatedly requested allowance adjustments over the years, but those requests went unheeded. A court ruling in February on a lawsuit filed by firefighters seeking additional pay further underscored the need for legislative action, finding that whether to grant additional compensation was a matter for lawmakers to resolve through legislation.

The proposed amendment also requires that allowance amounts take into account inflation and the frequency of emergency dispatches. A spokesperson for Choi's office said the bill would require the state to pay firefighters engaged in hazardous duties a hazard allowance and dispatch bonus, and would mandate that the amounts be set with consideration for the danger of the work, dispatch frequency and changes in consumer prices.

The bill further requires the National Fire Agency commissioner to periodically review the adequacy of allowances and formally request adjustments, with the government obligated to respond. Under the proposal, the commissioner would review allowance levels every three years and submit adjustment requests to the minister of the Ministry of Personnel Management, who would be required to respond within six months on whether to accept them. Any decision not to raise the allowances would have to be reported to the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly.

"The reality today is that firefighters' hazard pay depends entirely on the goodwill and discretion of the administration," Choi said. "This bill is the minimum mechanism to ensure the state regularly responds to the dedication of its firefighters."


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