The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 23rd that it will distribute 98.56 billion won in fire safety grants for 2025 to 17 cities and provinces nationwide. This year's fire safety grants increased by 30.9 billion won (3.2%) compared to last year (95.47 billion won).
The fire safety grants were introduced in 2015 to address the aging and shortage of firefighting personnel and equipment. The budget is set at 45% of the total amount of the special consumption tax imposed on tobacco.
Of this year's fire safety grants, 54.76 billion won will be allocated for firefighter personnel costs. The remaining 43.8 billion won will be used for local government firefighting and safety facility project costs.
Kim Yong-kyun, head of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Safety Prevention Policy Office, noted, "We will continue to make efforts to ensure that investments in the firefighting and safety sectors, which are vital to the lives of citizens, are increased."