The firefighters' division of the Korean Government Employees' Union demanded a formal apology from Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae for describing the fire service as a "troublesome fiscal straw."
In a statement on the 14th titled "We strongly condemn Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae's outrageous remark calling the fire service a fiscal straw," the union division said, "Our 70,000 firefighters nationwide cannot contain our boiling anger and dismay at the shocking remark that came out of her mouth."
"Using the crude expression that we 'eat up' the budget is an act of insult that tramples on the pride of every firefighter in South Korea and seriously damages their honor," the statement said. "Far from making any effort to resolve the institutional contradictions, Governor Choo has shifted the blame onto the fire service, which is devoted to the safety of provincial residents, and has wounded us." The union called on Choo to apologize for the remark, stop disparaging fire service finances and secure a full firefighting budget.
Choo made the remarks on the 13th during a parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province, saying the fire service "seems to be the biggest troublesome fiscal straw" and that it "eats up 1.1 trillion won."
As the controversy continued, the provincial government said the remarks were "intended to highlight the reality that local governments bear most of the related costs even after firefighters were converted to national civil servants, while the share of state funding has actually declined."
"Firefighting is an essential duty of great importance that protects the lives, safety and property of the people," the province added. "We are deeply grateful for the hard work of Gyeonggi Province's firefighters and will work to secure stable funding for the fire service."