Public Officials' Union: "School Principals Must Serve as Fire Safety Managers"

Call for Withdrawal of Fire Agency Amendment: "Student Safety Comes First"
Demand to Stop Deterioration of 'Fire Safety Management Regulations'

The Korean Federation of Public Officials' Unions (Education Office Headquarters) announced on the 21st that it held a press conference in front of the Sejong Fire Agency on the 20th, urging the withdrawal of the amendment to the "Regulations on Fire Safety Management of Public Institutions" currently being promoted by the Fire Agency.

They argued, "The amendment promoted by the Fire Agency reduces the responsibilities of school principals and shifts the responsibility for fire safety management to lower-ranking public officials," adding, "For the safety of students, the school principal must be in charge of school fire safety management."

Officials from the Korean Federation of Government Employees' Unions (Education Office Headquarters) held a press conference in front of the Sejong Fire Agency on the 20th, urging the withdrawal of the amendment to the related regulations, stating that the school principal should be responsible for school fire safety management. Provided by the Federation of Government Employees' Unions.

Lee Cheolwoong, head of the Education Office Headquarters of the Public Officials' Union, emphasized, "The tragedy of the 2003 Cheonan Elementary School fire, which claimed the lives of young children, must never happen again," and stressed, "The Fire Agency must immediately halt the revision of regulations that threaten school fire safety, and the school principal must be in charge of fire safety management in order to ensure student safety."

Kim Giryong, chairman of the Gyeongnam Office of Education Local Government Employees' Union, said, "Although the administrative office manager has no authority to control or supervise students, the Fire Agency is instructing that the administrative office manager be appointed as the fire safety manager," and added, "Since the school principal is responsible for managing and directing all faculty and students, only the principal can ensure a prompt response in the event of an accident by directly serving as the fire safety manager."

Sim Dongseop, chairman of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education Government Employees' Union, also stated, "The school administrative office manager is not responsible for student education and does not have the authority to direct or supervise students," and urged, "To prevent student safety accidents, the school principal must serve as the school's fire safety manager."

Meanwhile, accidents related to fire safety in schools continue to occur. In September last year, a student identified as A (13 years old) at a middle school in North Gyeongsang Province fell during fire safety training. The accident occurred during a lesson on how to use an emergency escape device, and A was transported to a general hospital in Daegu for treatment. In 2019, a student at an elementary school in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, was injured when their neck was caught in a fire shutter, sparking social controversy over who should be held responsible for fire safety accidents in schools. In 2003, a tragic fire at the Cheonan Elementary School soccer team's dormitory in South Chungcheong Province resulted in the deaths of nine students.

The Public Officials' Union stated in its press release that "it is unreasonable to shift the responsibility for fire safety management to the administrative office manager, who does not have the authority to direct faculty and students," and insisted, "In accordance with the higher law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the school principal, who oversees educational affairs, should be designated as the fire safety manager."

After the press conference, the participants delivered a letter of protest to a Fire Agency official and, through a meeting, demanded that "all relevant parties be consulted before the legislative notice, and that the regulations be revised with student safety as the top priority."

Officials from the Korean Federation of Government Employees' Unions (Education Office Headquarters) held a press conference in front of the Sejong Fire Agency on the 20th, urging the withdrawal of the amendment to the related regulations, stating that "the school principal should be in charge of school fire safety management." Provided by the Federation of Government Employees' Unions.