Manpower Cuts Hit Police, Fire Hardest

Senior policeman Jeong Sang-cheol (39), who was assigned to Jawol Island, Ongjin-gun, Incheon last February, is now responsible for the island’s security together with a single riot policeman.

There had been two riot policemen assigned to the island until 2004, but that was reduced to one last year.

Jawol Island, inhabited by around 420 residents, has beautiful scenery and attracts around 500 fishing enthusiasts and tourists on weekends. Even though the need for security is always high, when either Jeong or the riot officer is off duty or on vacation, patrols are impossible because they would leave the guardhouse empty.

Municipality, police departments, fire departments, and small and medium-sized enterprises have suffered from labor shortages ever since the government reduced substitute military service manpower, which includes riot police, mandatory police and industrial service personnel (those who work for industries instead of serving in the army) starting in 2003.

Accordingly, it has been pointed out that alternative measures should be prepared at once because of residents’ inconveniences caused by the instability of their public livelihood.

Municipality, police, and fire-

Gangneung City, Gangwon Province, where large-scale forest fires occurred in 2000 and last year, had to feel more anxious this spring.

The reason is because a close watch on forest fires is not available, since the number of civil service men in the municipal office decreased to 48 last year from 77 in 2004, and only 17 civil service men were dispatched this year.

Gangneung City considered employing daily workers to observe forest fires, but discounted the plan due to budget limitations. Instead, Gangneung City appointed a resident living in areas where forest fires frequently take place as a firewatcher.

Wansan-gu Office, Jeonju City, requested 120 civil service men this year, but was allowed only 43. These civil service men were put to work in traffic assistance, park management, and forest fire watching.

However, park restroom cleaning, which had been conducted on a daily basis, is being done every other day or every third day this year due to labor shortages. It is hard to exclusively put one person to forest fire watchtower as well.

The police who are in charge of public security are in more serious trouble. According to National Police Agency (NPA), the number of riot and obligatory policemen was around 52 thousand per annum until 2001, but fell to about 40 thousand this year.

The crime prevention patrol party of Daejeon Central District Police Station reduced its quota for obligatory policemen to 122 this year from 155 last year. A total of 108 policemen in three platoons are enlisted and around 25 policemen for each platoon will be left excluding those who are on day-off or holiday. Urgent matters, including riot control, can be a difficulty due to manpower problem.

The NPA urged the government to supplement the manpower through an NPA’s analysis of riot and obligatory police manpower reduction, stating that “We are worrying that riot control capacities have been thinned to bring about social uneasiness, and labor shortages in public peace maintenance can cause public security deterioration.”

Number of enlistment candidates drops-

The government decided to gradually reduce or annul the substitute military service system in September of 2002.

The substitute military service system was introduced in 1969, because the number of enlistment candidates was larger than needed in the army. However, the aggregate birth rate (the number of children one female gives birth to all her life), which was 6 in 1960, decreased to 1.16 last year to change the situation.

In addition, the substitute military manpower was determined to be reduced, since the period of public service was also shortened and military manpower could be lacking 70 thousand in 2007.

This decision affected small and medium-sized enterprises as well as public sectors. Industry service men decreased by 51 percent in number, as the substitute military manpower for seven fields was reduced until last year.

A Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KFSMB)’ research on 727 enterprises, which employed industry service men, on January showed that they were suffering from manpower problem, since the number of the industry service men decreased to 1.4 on average last year, from 3.4 in 2003.

The government intended to abolish the industry service personnel system from last year, but changed its plan to keep the system until 2012, because small and medium-businesses stubbornly oppose it.

A KFSMB official pointed out that “it is problematic that the industry-assisting manpower system is abolished without any alternatives, considering serious manpower problem in industry world.”

A supplementary plan-

The government has not kept its promise that it would prepare manpower supplement measures, as it decided to reduce the substitute military service manpower.

Municipality and police have not prepared measures so far either, although manpower reduction is expected. Budget limitation is the chief obstacle.

A police station official said, “Two to three policemen will be needed to substitute one riot and mandatory policeman, considering shift work. It is virtually impossible to secure substitute manpower due to financial conditions.”

Improvised system is a problem-

The government has selected obligatory firefighters out of military service candidates since 2002 after six firefighters were killed in a large fire in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, in 2001.

The obligatory firefighters have to take charge of arranging and examining fire-fighting equipment to improve fire officers’ working environments. Due to reduced military service manpower, however, the number of selected obligatory firefighters decreased to 400, half of last year’s allotment. It is uncertain even whether they will be recruited at all next year.

A total of 69 obligatory firefighters, far below this year’s quota of 209, were allotted to Busan Fire Services this year; 196 were allotted in 2004 and 152 in 2005.

A National Emergency Management Agency official said, “Despite the small number, obligatory firefighters were very instrumental to lightening the work burden. I don’t quite understand why the government introduced a system which will be repealed in four to five years.”

The Ministry of National Defense said, “We are planning to flexibly place obligatory policemen and industry service personnel, which is directly linked to public peace and security. But additional support of obligatory firefighters will likely not be available, considering the military service manpower situation.”