'Sobang Anjeon Gyobuse' Used for Purchasing Massage Chairs, TVs, and Refrigerators

Board of Audit and Inspection Announces Regular Audit Results of Fire Agency... 2.43 Billion Won Used in Non-Eligible Areas for Fire Safety Grant Tax

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] A report from the Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that a portion of the Fire Safety Grant Tax, which should have been used for expanding firefighting equipment and safety facilities, was instead spent on purchasing massage chairs, TVs, and refrigerators unrelated to its original purpose.

The Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of the regular audit of the National Fire Agency on the 10th. According to the Board, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety allocated 2.7 trillion KRW of the Fire Safety Grant Tax to cities and provinces from 2015 to 2020, which was used for expanding firefighting equipment and safety facilities, as well as for firefighters' personnel expenses.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety was found not to have established on-site inspection measures for the execution status of the Fire Safety Grant Tax.

Board of Audit and Inspection / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out that "from 2018 to 2019, five cities and provinces spent approximately 2.43 billion KRW on projects unrelated to the Fire Safety Grant Tax, such as constructing citizen safety education centers and purchasing general goods."

The Board explained, "Gyeonggi-do received and executed 842.64 million KRW in 2019 as facility expenses from the Fire Safety Grant Tax for the expansion of the Ilsan Fire Station 119 Rescue Team and the Juyop 119 Safety Center. However, afterward, 39.99 million KRW of the Fire Safety Grant Tax was spent on purchasing general goods not covered by facility expenses, such as furniture (massage chairs) and home appliances (TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.)."

The Board of Audit and Inspection notified to establish periodic inspection measures to ensure the appropriateness of the Fire Safety Grant Tax expenditures.

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