As fallout widened from Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's remark comparing the fire service to a "fiscal drain" that siphons off money, the Democratic Party's Gyeonggi provincial chapter held an emergency joint meeting of local district chairs on the 18th to discuss how to respond.
The emergency meeting, held at the Fantastic Cube in Bucheon City Hall from 8 p.m., drew about 25 district chairs, including sitting National Assembly members from the Gyeonggi region, and lasted roughly 40 minutes.
A provincial chapter official said the meeting was convened to discuss countermeasures because public opinion in the province over the governor's remark was unfavorable. "Some district chairs demanded a sincere apology from the governor, and there was also discussion of improving working conditions for firefighters and providing budget support," the official said, adding that no discussion took place regarding disciplinary action against the governor.
A day earlier, the provincial chapter issued a statement saying, "Regardless of the intent behind them, we bow our heads in apology to the firefighters and their families, and to the public, who were deeply wounded by the remarks of a governor belonging to our party."
Choo made the comment on the 13th during a parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, saying in reference to the province's fiscal difficulties that the fire service "seems like the biggest and most troublesome fiscal drain." As controversy mounted, the province explained that the remark was intended to underscore the reality that local governments bear most of the related costs even after firefighters were converted to national civil servant status, while the share of central government funding has instead declined.
Firefighters' unions continued to push back, demanding a public apology, and criticism grew after a factory fire in Bucheon on the 16th killed one firefighter in the line of duty and injured five others.
Choo issued a public apology on the 17th after paying respects at the funeral altar of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok, saying she had no intention whatsoever of disparaging firefighters. But the People Power Party and others have kept up their attacks, saying her remark — "Since you want an apology, I apologize with all my heart" — "cannot be seen as a genuine apology."