Gyeonggi-do Fire Department, No 'Reward Monopolization' for Reporting Emergency Exit Violations

Violation of Emergency Exit Regulations Enforcement

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From now on, in Gyeonggi-do, it will no longer be possible to abuse the 'Reward System for Reporting Violations' such as emergency exit closures to monopolize reward money.

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced that the "Partial Amendment to the Ordinance on the Operation of the Reward System for Reporting Violations such as Emergency Exit Closures in Gyeonggi-do," which was passed by the Provincial Council on the 23rd of last month, was promulgated on the 11th and has come into effect from that day.

The ordinance limits the payment of reward money to no more than five cases per month. It also includes provisions to recover reward money if it was paid incorrectly.

The province operates an emergency exit reporting reward system that pays a reward of 50,000 KRW in local currency when violations such as emergency exit closures, object storage, door stopper installation, or door closer damage at multi-use facilities are reported.

However, due to the absence of a limit on reward payments, a few professional reporters, called "Biparachi" (Emergency Exit + Paparazzi), reportedly received about 93% of the total reward budget (50 million KRW) last year, causing side effects of monopolizing reports for the sake of reward money.

A representative from the Fire and Disaster Headquarters said, "With the fully enforced amended ordinance, it is now possible to prevent private profit-seeking by specific individuals and to prevent illegal acts through the participation of many residents in reporting." They added, "Emergency exits are life-saving doors responsible for safety, and illegal acts such as closing emergency exits can lead to significant casualties in the event of a fire, so we ask for special attention."

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