[Inside Chodong] Who Protects the Lives of Those Who Save Lives?

James Zadroga, a New York City police officer, participated in rescue and recovery operations at the World Trade Center following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. He suffered from respiratory issues for a long time before passing away. The U.S. government recognized his death as being in the line of duty and, in 2011, enacted the Zadroga Act, named after him, to expand compensation and medical support for first responders suffering from secondary aftereffects.

This law was amended five years later. It included all 63,000 public officials and civilians who participated in rescue operations during the attacks as eligible for compensation. Anyone involved in rescue, site recovery, or debris cleanup related to the attacks was covered. Authorities paid particular attention to the fact that, over 14 years after the attacks, about 3,900 people-including more than 950 firefighters-had been diagnosed with cancer.

What about South Korea? Just the number of personnel dispatched to the sites of the Itaewon disaster and the Jeju Air passenger plane accident totaled 3,300, but intensive psychological counseling and support ended after only one year. The government's follow-up support measures, which only came after a firefighter who suffered from depression following support work at the Itaewon disaster site took his own life, starkly illustrate how we treat firefighters.

Public interest often flares up like fireworks and then quickly fades. Every president promises to improve working conditions, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle point out the poor working environment during parliamentary audits, but it ends there. It was only a year ago that it was revealed that the cost of a single meal for firefighters returning from life-threatening missions was just over 3,000 won-lower than that of prison inmates.

The situation is even more dire when it comes to the invisible issue of "mental health" management. Even when treatment is urgently needed, many firefighters say they fear being seen as "unsuited for the job" or "mentally weak" by their colleagues more than the illness itself. A survey conducted last year among 61,000 firefighters found that about 3,000 belonged to the high-risk group for suicide. There are even voices saying that, with an average of 13 firefighter suicides per year, suicide is a greater concern than line-of-duty deaths.

Given the treatment they receive on the ground, firefighters in our society are regarded as just "civil servants." The Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training conducted a survey on 15 professions to determine those with the highest social status, and firefighters ranked only 11th. In similar surveys, firefighters have consistently ranked first for several years in the United States and Germany.

Since this is an issue of national systems-such as budgets and administration-I'm not insisting that we treat them exactly as the U.S. does. However, we cannot demand responsibility from those who sacrifice for the nation without providing them with appropriate treatment.

Addressing basic demands that firefighters have made for years, such as increasing personnel and improving allowances, could be a starting point. Although they have been converted to national civil servants, the "half-measure nationalization" where laws and systems remain unchanged must end. A support system focused on "prevention" is also needed. Their suffering stems from complex, layered trauma, and if we do not track and manage this, deaths will inevitably continue.

Our perception must also change. Firefighters are not neighborhood caretakers who unlock doors, rescue cats stuck in door cracks, or replace coal briquettes. Can we really ask them to risk their lives to protect our lives and property while instilling a sense of self-doubt in them?

In about 50 days, the new government's first parliamentary audit will begin. President Lee Jaemyung's message that "the workplace people went to in order to live must never become a place of death" applies not only to firefighters who died in the line of duty at disaster sites but also to those who took their own lives. If these deaths could have been prevented but were not, then society is indeed responsible. Even now, I hope we will seriously consider comprehensive improvements to their treatment and the institutionalization of ongoing support.