Wave of Attacks on 119 EMTs Highlights Urgent Need for Safety Measures

119 ambulance crew members are continuing to be assaulted while on duty. Although related laws have been revised to impose stricter penalties, EMTs are still exposed to dangerous situations.

Recently, an incident occurred where an EMT, responding to a call about a man who had collapsed in a park, was assaulted by the inebriated man. The patient struck the EMT in the face inside the ambulance, and the assault continued even after the vehicle stopped, reportedly because the patient couldn't get water in time.

Frontline EMTs feel a sense of tension every time they hear news of colleagues being attacked. Park Hee-sun, a fire captain at the Donghaksa 119 Safety Center of Gongju Fire Station, said, "They're people who went there to help, but citizens often act emotionally." He expressed anxiety that a similar situation might occur on his next call.

Over the past five years, there have been approximately 1,200 cases of 119 EMTs being assaulted during call-outs. Of these, only 82 cases resulted in prison sentences, accounting for just 7% of the total, and 8 out of 10 perpetrators were intoxicated.

Although laws were amended in 2022 to disallow sentence reductions for those who obstruct firefighting and emergency medical services while drunk, critics argue this is insufficient to prevent assaults on EMTs. Chae Jin, a professor of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Mokwon University, stated that EMTs are often helplessly assaulted and suggested considering measures to broaden the scope of justifiable self-defense. Experts say that along with expanding preventative equipment, measures to increase the effectiveness of punishments are necessary to protect the emergency response system.