Kicking, Headbutting... Emergency Responders Face Ongoing Assaults While Saving Lives

Emergency responders who rushed to the home of an elderly person in their 80s living alone in Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province, on June 18 were suddenly assaulted.

The "Emergency Safety Ansim Service" was automatically triggered to call 119 after no activity from A was detected, and when A did not answer the phone, three firefighters went to the scene themselves to check on the situation.

The moment the responders confirmed that there was nothing wrong with A's safety and were about to return, a drunk A suddenly started kicking and headbutting the responders.

One of the responders even had their arm scratched by a ballpoint pen swung by A.

The Special Judicial Police of the South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters have booked A on charges of obstructing emergency operations and are investigating the case.

The special judicial police plan to forward A to the prosecution within this month.

Verbal abuse and physical assaults against emergency responders who rush to save lives in critical moments show little sign of decreasing.

According to the South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters on Tuesday (August 4), a total of 33 cases of verbal abuse and physical assault against emergency responders in the province occurred over the five years from 2021 to last year.

This year, 7 cases were received in just the first seven months, already surpassing last year's annual total of 6 cases.

To ensure the safety of emergency responders, the fire authorities are strengthening the high-risk dispatch management system—such as jointly responding with the police to reports where violence is anticipated and sharing risk information starting from the report reception stage—but hardships in the field continue unabated.

In particular, a significant portion of these incidents were found to be caused by intoxicated individuals.

In Taean last May, an emergency responder supporting a drunk person in their 60s was hit on the right cheekbone, and in Cheonan last April, another responder removing the glasses of an intoxicated person in their 60s for facial emergency treatment was struck in the face.

Article 28 of the current Act on 119 Rescue and Emergency Services stipulates that anyone who obstructs rescue and emergency operations without justifiable cause shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won.

The relevant law also includes a provision allowing sentences not to be mitigated even if the offender was in a state of mental or physical weakness due to alcohol consumption.

However, despite strict penalty regulations, cases often end up with mere fines or suspended sentences, leading to criticism that the deterrent effect felt in the field is not significant.

Discussions on strengthening punishments continue in the National Assembly, such as a recently proposed bill to eliminate fines and make imprisonment mandatory for assaulting 119 emergency responders.

Professor Kong Ha-sung of the Department of Fire and Disaster Protection at Woosuk University said, "Assaults on emergency responders mostly occur under the influence of alcohol. When a single responder is injured, the golden time for another patient waiting for help at that exact moment can vanish together, making it a serious crime." He added, "There is a need to refrain from leniency and strictly apply penalty provisions as they are to raise awareness."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.