President Moon, "Will Keep Promise to Increase Firefighters by 2022"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] President Moon Jae-in said on the 6th, "We are fulfilling our promise to recruit 20,000 firefighters by 2022 and are steadily progressing with the establishment of fire hospitals to protect the safety and health of firefighters."

President Moon emphasized this during the 58th Firefighting Anniversary Ceremony held at the Fire Suppression Training Center of the Central Fire Academy in Gongju, Chungnam, saying, "The safety of firefighters is the safety of the people."

The event was attended by about 180 people, including invited guests such as Minister of the Interior and Safety Jin Young, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Oh Young-hwan, a former firefighter, firefighters, and volunteer firefighters. The National Fire Agency explained that the number of people on site was minimized to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures.

The ceremony proceeded in the order of the reading of a dedication letter titled "Return Alive, Come Back Alive" written by author Kim Hoon, the national anthem, greetings from the Commissioner of the National Fire Agency, awards for meritorious service, appointment of honorary firefighters, and the president's commemorative speech.

At this event, Fire Commissioner Cho Sungho of the National Fire Agency received the Order of Civil Merit, Red Stripes, and a total of 182 individuals and 6 organizations were awarded government honors.

Additionally, actor Lee Jun-hyuk, who portrayed the devoted image of firefighters in films themed on disaster recovery, and actress Jo Bo-ah, who led recovery efforts for the Gangwon wildfire damage, were appointed honorary firefighters.

A fire suppression demonstration was also held, comprehensively staging the entire process from the 119 emergency call to the completion of extinguishing, assuming fire scenarios in high-rise buildings and multi-use facilities.

Shin Yeol-woo, Commissioner of the National Fire Agency, said, "We will dedicate ourselves with renewed determination to the safety of the people, as much as the support the public has shown for the long-awaited transition of firefighters to national public officials," adding, "We will strengthen firefighting capabilities and continuously develop response technologies to create a Korean firefighting service admired worldwide, adapting to the changing disaster environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.