Jeju Fire Headquarters Establishes Measures to Eradicate Assaults on 119 Paramedics

The Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters (Chief Kim Su-hwan) is taking extraordinary measures, including applying a zero-tolerance policy, to eradicate the ongoing assaults on 119 paramedics.

According to the Jeju Fire Headquarters on the 23rd, over the past three years, the number of assault incidents involving 119 paramedics in the province were 10 cases (58.8%) at Jeju Fire Station, 4 cases (23.5%) at Seogwipo Fire Station, 2 cases (11.8%) at Dongbu Fire Station, and 1 case (5.9%) at Seobu Fire Station, with about 82% occurring concentrated in the Jeju and Seogwipo eastern areas.

In particular, among the 17 total assailants, 16 (94.10%) were intoxicated individuals and 1 (5.9%) had a mental illness, indicating that most assaults occurred during treatment of patients under the influence of alcohol.

The Jeju Fire Headquarters will implement a thorough three-stage assault prevention plan?preparation, response, and recovery?to ensure the safe field activities of 119 paramedics.

In the preparation stage, they will activate education and training to prevent assault incidents and conduct focused publicity campaigns to raise public awareness for assault eradication.

During the response stage, when there is concern about assault situations such as intoxicated callers, police and fire pump vehicles will be dispatched simultaneously for proactive response, and evidence related to assaults will be actively collected using recording equipment to prepare for future legal actions.

In the recovery stage, a dedicated investigation team will operate to pursue judicial measures, and post-management programs such as psychological treatment and financial support for affected paramedics will be provided.

Additionally, through the rapid dispatch of dedicated special judicial police and direct investigation of incidents, punishments will be strengthened, and especially through strict adherence to the zero-tolerance principle, the issue of assaults on paramedics will be confronted head-on.

Furthermore, thorough treatment support will prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and assist in complete recovery of affected paramedics by including psychological healing programs to heal emotional wounds.

Kim Su-hwan, Chief of Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters, stated, “While strong punishment is important to eradicate assaults on paramedics, mature civic consciousness among all residents is also necessary,” and added, “We hope everyone will participate in spreading a culture that cherishes and respects firefighters who work hard for the safety of the residents.”

Jeju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Jeong-pil baekok@asiae.co.kr