'National General Public Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Contest' to be Held

First In-Person Competition After COVID-19 Easing

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The National Fire Agency announced on the 8th that, in response to the growing importance of layperson cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), it will hold the "12th National Layperson CPR Competition" at the Government Sejong Convention Center in June to increase public participation.

The Layperson CPR Competition has been held annually since 2012 to raise awareness of the importance of emergency treatment for cardiac arrest patients and to increase the rate of layperson CPR implementation.

For the past two years, due to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, the event was replaced by a non-face-to-face emergency treatment video contest, but this year's competition will be the first in-person event following the easing of social distancing measures.

To boost nationwide interest and participation, the competition is divided into two categories: University & General Division and Student & Youth Division. Thirty-eight teams that won first place in each category at the preliminary competitions held in each city and province will compete in the national competition with intense performances.

Teams of up to 10 members can participate, and participants must express the cardiac arrest occurrence and response actions in the form of a short play. Among the participants, two members will perform CPR using a manikin for evaluation purposes, simulating a real situation, which will be assessed by judges and an audience evaluation panel.

Following the schedules of each city and provincial headquarters, regional preliminary competitions will be held from March to April, and the main competition will take place in June.

The Prime Minister's Award will be given to the winner of the University & General Division, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education's Award will be presented to the winner of the Student & Youth Division. The Grand Prize will be awarded to one team by the Minister of Health and Welfare; Gold Prizes to three teams by the Commissioner of the National Fire Agency and two teams by the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency; Silver Prizes to five teams by the President of the Korea Fire Safety Institute and five teams by the President of the Korean Red Cross, totaling 18 teams receiving awards.

Hwang Gi-seok, Director of the Fire Prevention Bureau at the National Fire Agency, stated, “The initial implementation of CPR when a cardiac arrest patient occurs is as important as a four-minute miracle,” adding, “We hope this competition will serve as an opportunity for the rate of layperson CPR to surpass that of advanced countries, and we will continue to provide CPR education to create a safer Republic of Korea.”