President Moon Jae-in reemphasized his will to establish a new specialty hospital for firefighters, an idea he had floated since taking office in May. In Korea, there are specialty hospitals to exclusively care for soldiers and police officers but none for firefighters.
Moon announced his plan on specialty hospital for firefighters at an event held on Friday to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Firefighters’ Day, stressing the need to improve working conditions for firefighters.
“At least one firefighter gets an on-the-job injury every day,” the President said. “Their mental health is in danger, too, as seven out of 10 firefighters are going through psychological traumas due to risky works, horrible accident scenes and irregular shifts. More firefighters die by suicide than on the job.”
“We will reinforce the state’s responsibility for firefighters’ health and injuries on the job,” he said. “We will also build ‘integrated healing centers’ where they can prevent physical and psychological injuries. The government will also aggressively seek to establish a new hospital for firefighters.”
