‘Free’ firefighting training to stand in line, immediate dispatch if you pay… Firefighters selling ‘safety’

Some receive lecture fees by encouraging external lectures.
When offered 150,000 won for 2 hours, I accepted immediately.
Fire Department: “There is no problem if you report the lecture”
Legal industry: “If you fail to report, you will be rewarded for your job”
“We must prevent lectures by strengthening internal regulations.”

Mr. Kim (55), who runs a small business in Seoul, inquired at a fire station in Seoul to receive ‘on-site fire safety training’, but unlike previous years, he received an answer that “you have to pay the fee.” When Mr. Kim, who had been receiving education for free, asked about the exact cost, the answer was, “Please set it within a reasonable range.” In the end, Mr. Kim offered 150,000 won for a two-hour lecture, and the fire department immediately accepted.

According to the Seoul Shinmun coverage on the 12th, it was found that some firefighters are taking the cost of on-site fire safety training, which is supposed to be provided free of charge, by converting it into an external lecture-style training. This is an abuse of the fact that waiting or schedule adjustments are required to receive free education. The National Fire Agency's position is, “We do not collect lecture fees exceeding the amount set by the Anti-Graft Act, and there is no problem as long as you report after the lecture.” However, since this training is free in principle and contains content directly related to safety, such as fire evacuation methods and CPR, it is pointed out that misuse should be prevented in advance.

According to the National Fire Agency, front-line fire departments form training teams of 3 to 4 people and provide related training, including on-site fire safety training. Although on-site fire safety training is not mandatory, it is in high demand because it allows you to learn practical fire response methods such as evacuation drills. Just looking at the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, 221,115 people received training in 2022 and 391,161 people last year.

The National Fire Agency said, “Basically, on-site fire safety training is provided free of charge, but if you receive a request for an external lecture, etc., you must report it within 12 days.” He added, “In accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act, the lecture fee is not a problem as long as it does not exceed 400,000 won per hour or 600,000 won per day.” However, if the lecture fee is not reported after receiving the training, measures such as caution, warning, and completion of cyber training will be taken along with refund of the lecture fee. An official from the Ministry of Personnel Management explained, “If a firefighter requests training costs without reporting it to his or her agency, it may be a violation of the public official’s duty of good faith.”

However, because registration for lectures can be made by phone rather than the internet, it is not easy to catch education that has not been reported.Choi Hyeon-deok, an attorney at Daeryun Law Firm, said, “Safety training can be viewed as a firefighting job from a preventive perspective,” and added, “If the amount was unilaterally requested or not reported after an external lecture, it can also be seen that the public official received money related to his or her job.”

Fire safety experts believe that internal regulations should be strengthened to fundamentally block the introduction of lectures that require payment of fees and that the level of disciplinary action against unreported training should be increased. The purpose is to increase reliability and transparency in education. Lee Young-joo, a professor in the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Kyungil University, said, “Accepting even a small amount of money can create a false perception by lowering the credibility of education.” Kim Gyeong-jin, a professor in the Department of Industrial Safety and Fire Protection at Woosuk University, said, “The fire department needs to manage the training schedule uniformly so that free training can be given priority.”

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