Minister of Strategy and Finance Park Hong-geun announced plans to review the financial sharing system between the national and local governments to ensure stable funding for fire safety budgets.
During a comprehensive audit session of the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee on October 23, Minister Park responded to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Tae-ho regarding measures to expand fire funding, stating, "We need to discuss the principles and criteria for the distribution of fire budgets between the national and local governments."
Lawmaker Jeong pointed out that the national funding for fire safety budgets decreased from 14.9% in 2021 to 10.7% currently, emphasizing that the reduction contradicts the intent behind the transition of fire positions to national status in 2020.
Minister Park explained, "At the time of the transition to national firefighter status, it was agreed that while their status would be national, fire duties would remain with local governments. We have increased the distribution ratio of the tobacco excise tax for fire safety grants from 20% to 45% to cover the necessary funding for personnel increases."
He added, "As the tobacco excise tax revenue decreases, the number of firefighters and personnel costs are rising. We need to consider how to address this gap."
While Minister Park noted that the government continues to support the acquisition of advanced firefighting equipment and the replacement of aging ambulances, he acknowledged the need for more effective measures and expressed a willingness to collaborate with the National Assembly on this issue.
In response to Lawmaker Jeong's assertion that these matters should be reflected in next year's budget, Minister Park stated, "We will comprehensively listen to the opinions of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Fire Agency, and local governments to identify aspects that can be included immediately and assess the need for long-term institutional reforms."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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