Kim Dong-yeon Visits Appointment Ceremony of 653 New Firefighters: "Reliable and Proud"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (right) is giving a salute before handing over the appointment letter at the new firefighter appointment ceremony held on the 23rd. Photo by Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters

[Asia Economy (Yongin) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A total of 653 newly appointed firefighters in Gyeonggi Province have completed 18 weeks of training and taken a strong first step toward ensuring the safety of the residents.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters held the '2022 New Firefighter Appointment Ceremony' on the morning of the 23rd at the Indoor Rescue Training Center of the Gyeonggi Fire School located in Yongin.

Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed his congratulations in a congratulatory speech, saying, "I congratulate you along with 13.9 million residents for enduring the difficult process well and achieving the honorable appointment," and added, "Today is a very pleasant day, and I feel reassured."

He continued, "A few weeks ago, I participated directly in a social disaster drill at Suwon Station, where an escalator malfunction caused casualties and injuries. I was deeply moved to see numerous firefighters diligently performing their assigned roles," and said, "I wonder how you would have handled such a situation, which closely resembles a real emergency. I am proud of you all."

Referring to the October 29 disaster, he said, "There were forty victims in Gyeonggi Province as well. We set up a memorial altar at the provincial government office and held a longer mourning period than the central government. We contacted the bereaved families who wished to participate and brought two portraits of the deceased," and emphasized, "The feeling was completely different when we gathered all the victims at once for a memorial and when we mourned while looking at their portraits. The stories and sorrow of each individual and the grief of their families were entirely different from when it was just an anonymous memorial altar. Each of those individuals was a life and safety that we must protect and guard."

He then urged, "As you start anew today, please ensure that such sacrifices never happen again on this land. Even if such situations inevitably occur, I ask the Gyeonggi firefighters to respond most efficiently, selflessly, and bravely."

Governor Kim also advised the new firefighters to become people of action.

He said, "Many people think of dreams as a noun form, meaning 'what they want to become.' However, through life, I realized that a higher dream is not a noun but a verb. A dream is wanting to do something," and added, "You have achieved the noun form of the dream as firefighters, and now I hope you embrace the verb form of the dream, the desire to do something, and put it into practice."

Before the appointment ceremony, Governor Kim also encouraged firefighters on emergency duty during disasters and visited paramedics who were dispatched to the scene during the October 29 disaster to check on their health, showing special care for firefighters on the front lines.

The appointment ceremony was attended by Yeom Jong-hyun, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council; Ahn Gye-il, Chairman of the Safety and Administration Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council; Jo Sun-ho, Head of the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters; and other provincial council members.

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