Over 3,200 Gyeonggi-do Firefighters Will No Longer Need to Register Assets Starting Next Year

Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] More than 3,200 firefighters (Fire Lieutenant and Fire Sergeant) affiliated with the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters will no longer be required to register their assets. Until now, about 10,000 firefighters in the province were obligated to register their assets annually.

The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters announced on the 14th that it has recently begun the process of compiling and organizing the list of eligible personnel following the approval by the Gyeonggi Provincial Public Officials Ethics Committee to exempt firefighters from the obligation to register assets.

This approval by the Public Officials Ethics Committee follows a legal amendment made last month. The firefighters exempted from the asset registration obligation in the province are those holding the ranks of Fire Lieutenant and Fire Sergeant, totaling 3,228 personnel.

The Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters plans to compile the list of exempted personnel within this week and proceed with the exclusion process.

Earlier, the Ministry of Personnel Management implemented the 'Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Public Officials Ethics Act,' which adjusts the scope of firefighters required to register assets, starting from the 4th of last month.

The main amendment stipulates that firefighters holding the ranks of Fire Lieutenant and Fire Sergeant, who perform only field duties such as fire suppression, rescue, emergency medical services, or situation management duties like those in the 119 comprehensive situation room, are excluded from the obligation to register assets. Until now, all firefighters ranked Fire Sergeant and above were required to register their assets.

This has raised concerns that imposing asset registration obligations on lower-ranked firefighters engaged in field activities and situation management duties is an excessive burden. In response, the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters has urged various government departments for over a year since early last year to improve the asset registration system.

Jung Yo-an, the Hearing and Audit Officer of the Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters, stated, "Through this exemption from the obligation, we expect to alleviate the asset registration workload for firefighters dedicated to field activities such as fire suppression, rescue, emergency medical services, and situation management, allowing them to focus more on disaster response activities to protect the lives and property of the public."