The Fire Agency's First Female Fire Deputy Commissioner Emerges... Gominja Fire Deputy Commissioner

49 Years Since the Hiring of Female Firefighters

Concerned Person Fire Lieutenant Colonel

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] For the first time in 49 years since the hiring of female firefighters, a female Fire Deputy Commissioner (Grade 3) has been appointed. The protagonist is Go Min-ja (56), Director of the Fire Analysis System Division at the National Fire Agency.

On the 10th, the National Fire Agency announced that six Fire Captains, including Go Min-ja, were promoted to Fire Deputy Commissioner. Among the total 61,034 firefighters, 5,649 (9.3%) are female, and until now, the highest rank held by female firefighters was Fire Captain (Grade 4).

Director Go, originally from Jeju Island, began her public service career in 1984 as a firefighter recruit and has been serving as a firefighter for 38 years.

In 2016, she became the first female fire station chief in Jeju (Jeju East Fire Station) and has held various positions including Director of the Protection and Rescue Division at Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters, Chief of the 119 Rescue Situation Room at the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters of the National Fire Agency, Head of the General Affairs Team in the Operations Support Division, and Preparatory Team Leader for the newly established Education and Training Officer at the National Fire Agency.

When appointed as Chief of the 119 Rescue Situation Room at the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters in 2018, she became the first female firefighter at the director level in the National Fire Agency, attracting attention. During her tenure, she was praised for her excellent situation management skills, such as efficiently operating the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters’ dispatch forces when a Level 3 response was issued for the Goseong wildfire in April 2019, and systematically managing international rescue operations during the Hungarian cruise ship sinking incident.

Moreover, she established related regulations to enhance the honor of firefighters who died in the line of duty during various firefighting activities, and led efforts to improve employee welfare and foster a vibrant workplace atmosphere.

After the transition of firefighters to national public officials, she served as the Preparatory Team Leader for the newly established Education and Training Officer position, significantly contributing to solid education and training programs and laying the foundation for nationwide firefighter recruitment operations.

Throughout her 38 years of public service, she has earned the trust of her colleagues through her resilience as a firefighter and her meticulous and proactive work approach. Director Go Min-ja said, “As the first female Fire Deputy Commissioner in the Republic of Korea, I will do my best to protect the safety of the people.”