Lawmaker urges stronger state responsibility for fire department funding

People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee representing Dalseo-gu in Daegu, held a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday — the 64th Fire Service Day — urging improved working conditions for firefighters and stronger state responsibility for fire department funding.

Kwon welcomed the government's consideration of additional fire department budget support for next year and the use of a future-response fund to expand essential firefighting equipment and facilities, but expressed concern over how the funding would be structured.

"Redirecting funds that must be legally distributed to local governments under the Local Allocation Tax Act into a special fund and calling it fire department support is nothing more than taking money from local finances and taking credit for it," Kwon said. "Statutory allocation taxes must be distributed normally first, and any fund should be established through proper legal procedures."

Kwon also said the national government's share of fire department funding had actually declined since firefighters were transferred to national civil servant status. The national government's share of total fire department spending fell from 14.9 percent in 2021 to 10.7 percent in 2025, according to Kwon.

Kwon called for making a minimum 30 percent national funding share mandatory and for a stable tax reform tied to fiscal growth.

"Firefighters who rush into dangerous disaster scenes to protect people's lives must not struggle because of insufficient funding," Kwon said. "I will work at the National Assembly level to properly establish the state's responsibility for the fire service."