Fire Safety Budget for Next Year Cut by 289.7 Billion Won… Growing Concerns Over Field Response
Published
The government has decided to significantly reduce the local government grant budget intended for the expansion of fire safety facilities for next year. The relevant budget, which was 1.0502 trillion won this year, is scheduled to decrease by approximately 289.7 billion won to 760.5 billion won next year.
Due to this budget cut, the National Fire Agency's budget for 119 field response operations will also be reduced. Concerns are being raised that difficulties may arise in reinforcing equipment used in fire-fighting operations and expanding safety facilities.
Regarding the reason for the budget reduction, the government explained that tax revenue from tobacco, which serves as the funding source for the fire safety grant, has decreased due to a decline in tobacco consumption. Their position is that they had no choice but to adjust the overall budget scale as the funding source itself has become insufficient.
However, there is also strong criticism regarding the reduction of the budget responsible for the safety of fire-fighting operations. As this is a field directly linked to the safety of citizens, there are ongoing calls for the development of measures to resolve the budget shortfall.
Sources: 매일경제
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