As allegations emerged that a woman firefighter in her 20s with the Gwangju Metropolitan Fire Headquarters, who died ahead of her wedding, had struggled because of workplace drinking gatherings and power abuse, the bereaved family and the firefighters' union called for a thorough investigation.
The Firefighters' Labor Union and the bereaved family held a press conference at 2 p.m. on the 11th in front of Gwangju City Hall and said, "We urge a thorough investigation and punishment of those responsible regarding the woman firefighter with the Gwangju Fire Headquarters who ended her life with a heartbreaking decision in Oct. last year."
The union and the bereaved family said the deceased civil servant, a person surnamed Jeong (29 at the time), suffered severe psychological distress due to workplace harassment, including prolonged, repeated coercion to drink, a culture centered on company dinners, and personal errands.
They also alleged that although they asked the Gwangju Fire Headquarters to uncover the truth, they could not even secure a meeting and that the agency instead shifted the cause of Jeong's death onto the family. They pointed to the fact that the Gwangju Fire Headquarters wrote in Jeong's death separation report in Oct. last year that the cause of death was "discomfort with boyfriend expressed during counseling in June."
The union and the bereaved family said, "The deceased suffered due to repeated, prolonged coercion to drink, a culture centered on company dinners, personal errands, authoritarian control by superiors, and workplace harassment," and added, "We must restore the deceased's honor through a thorough investigation and accountability for those responsible."
The National Fire Agency has launched an inspection related to the case. However, Lee Jae-myung, the president, ordered the Office for Government Policy Coordination to conduct the investigation instead of the National Fire Agency to ensure objectivity.
The president said on X that day, "It is truly deplorable that such old-fashioned public officials still exist," adding, "If the investigation confirms as fact the coercion to drink and the dismissal of requests for an internal probe, we will impose the maximum accountability possible—including not only disciplinary action but also criminal punishment, civil damages, and subsequent recourse claims—so that malignant workplace power abuse such as coercing drinking at company dinners, or the concealment and dismissal of corruption, can never again even be contemplated in this country."