Chairman Kim Hyun-ki of Seoul Metropolitan Council Attends Fire Hero Road Honorary Street Designation Ceremony

Kim Hyun-ki, Chairman of Seoul Metropolitan Council, "The rescue concept at disaster sites must change to ensure people are brought back alive and survive"

Kim Hyun-gi, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, attended the Fire Hero Road honorary street designation ceremony held on the afternoon of the 4th at the main auditorium inside the Seoul Fire Academy. Chairperson Kim honored the noble dedication of six fire heroes who died in the line of duty 23 years ago in the Hongje-dong residential fire disaster and promised to continue legislative and financial support efforts to improve the treatment and respect for firefighters responsible for citizen safety.

The ceremony was held to commemorate the designation of Fire Hero Road, Seoul's first honorary street related to firefighters, and was conducted on the 23rd anniversary of the sacrifice of the six fire heroes to honor their noble spirit of sacrifice.

About 300 people attended the ceremony, including bereaved families, fellow firefighters, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, National Assembly members Park Jin and Oh Young-hwan, Seoul Metropolitan Council members Kim Yong-ho and Park Chil-seong, and Seo Daemun District Mayor Lee Seong-heon.

Starting his commemorative speech by calling out the names of the six firefighters who died in the Hongje-dong arson incident 23 years ago, Chairperson Kim said, “The recollection of a six-year-old child at the time of the accident that ‘My father was a great man’ touches the heart,” and praised, “The fallen firefighters are eternal living heroes and exemplars of public servants devoted to the nation of the Republic of Korea.”

He continued, “Since the accident, many changes have occurred, such as the full distribution of fire-resistant suits to firefighters and the establishment of volunteer fire brigades, but fundamental changes have still not been achieved,” and pointed out, “The cycle of firefighter deaths, mourning, sacrifice, and memorials continues.”

Chairperson Kim stated, “The rescue concept at disaster sites must now change so that firefighters return alive and are guaranteed to return alive,” and declared, “I will generously support legislative and financial measures to make the improvement of the status, conditions, treatment, and respect for fire heroes a turning point for Seoul as a disaster safety city.”

The Fire Hero Road designated that day is the first firefighter-related honorary street designated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The 382-meter section extending from Exit 3 of Hongje Station (Hongje-dong 161-1), near the residential area where the Hongje-dong fire disaster occurred on March 4, 2001, to in front of Go-eun Elementary School (Hongje-dong 156-461) was designated as an honorary street.

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