Luncheon with fire department officials held on 64th Fire Service Day

President Lee Jae Myung poses for a photo with fire department officials after attending the 64th Fire Service Day ceremony in Sejong on Monday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung poses for a photo with fire department officials after attending the 64th Fire Service Day ceremony in Sejong on Monday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung hosted a luncheon with fire department officials Monday on the occasion of the 64th Fire Service Day, expressing gratitude and saying their dedication had significantly reduced casualties and fatalities.

Cheong Wa Dae Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing that Lee held the luncheon with seven fire department civil servants in Sejong after attending the Fire Service Day ceremony there.

The luncheon was arranged to honor and encourage fire department civil servants who have quietly carried out their duties on the front lines of disaster response and public safety.

It also gave Lee an opportunity to hear directly from attendees about the rewarding aspects of their work and the challenges they face on the ground.

Lee mentioned that some of his own friends are firefighters and asked why they tend to avoid assignments at headquarters. Attendees replied that they simply prefer fieldwork to administrative duties.

Kang said that during a conversation about the firefighter promotion system, a minister drew laughter from Lee and the other attendees by offering a mnemonic device for memorizing fire service ranks.

Lee also engaged attendees with questions such as whether fire departments typically arrive at wildfire scenes before the Korea Forest Service, and whether the 119 emergency line receives a wide range of non-emergency complaints.

Lee listened attentively as Fire Commissioner Choi described the psychological toll on firefighters — including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression — and said 15 fire department civil servants died by suicide last year and 7 this year.

Before the luncheon, Lee inspected a display of specialized fire vehicles and equipment outside the ceremony venue, including an unmanned demolition and water-cannon vehicle, a high-performance chemical truck and a smoke-exhaust robot, and raised the need for joint research in cooperation with the Agency for Defense Development.


sang@heraldcorp.com