Sejong City Maintains Nation's Highest Cardiac Arrest ROSC Rate for Two Consecutive Years

Fire Department Attributes Success to Training Qualified Paramedics
and High Public Interest in CPR

Sejong City has recorded the highest recovery rate in the nation for cardiac arrest patient survival over the past two years.

According to the Sejong Fire Department on September 3, the city ranked first nationwide for two consecutive years in the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) rate among cardiac arrest patients last year. The ROSC rate is an indicator that shows the proportion of patients who recover from cardiac arrest through spontaneous circulation either during or after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

According to the data, the ROSC rate was 21.9% in 2023 and 20.9% in 2024, making it the highest in the country for two consecutive years. The five-year average ROSC rate was also 17.7%, significantly higher than the national average of 10.8%.

An official from the Fire Department attributed these achievements to the expertise of paramedics and active citizen participation. The official explained that the background for these results is the cultivation of a large number of paramedics with professional qualifications and the high level of public interest in CPR.

In fact, according to the 119 Emergency Medical Service Quality Management Report, published as part of a research project by Seoul National University Hospital and covering the years 2020 to 2024, the proportion of paramedics with professional qualifications in the region over the past five years was 99.1%. This is significantly higher than the national average of 68.7% during the same period. Furthermore, the rate of CPR performed by the general public was 66.2% during that period, 5.4 percentage points higher than the national average of 60.8%.

Park Taewon, head of the Fire Department, stated, "We will continue to protect citizens' safety by prioritizing real lives over simple numbers, expanding education and equipment, and strengthening research cooperation." He added, "We plan to expand CPR training for citizens, reinforce emergency equipment, and continuously enhance the professional capabilities of paramedics."