President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to fully support the nation's fire agency to establish a world-leading disaster response system.

At a ceremony marking the 61st Firefighters Day on Thursday, Yoon said threats from climate change, industrialization and urbanization have led to calls for advanced disaster management capabilities. 

The president promised to accelerate state support to establish a next-generation firefighting system that conducts an artificial intelligence analysis of priorities in emergency dispatching, expand portable water tanks for fires involving electric vehicles and supply firefighting robots.

Yoon vowed to raise the ranks of regional fire commanders to those comparable to the police in order to legitimize on-site command authority.

He also promised active support for the planned construction of a national hospital for firefighters and a holistic training facility.