The fiancé of a firefighter in her 20s who died in Gwangju has demanded a full investigation, raising allegations of excessive drinking culture and workplace abuse within the fire service.
According to information that the deceased's fiancé, identified as A, provided to the media Tuesday, the victim, identified as B, struggled with workplace harassment, including excessive company dinners and forced drinking, while working at a fire station in Gwangju before her death in October last year.
In KakaoTalk messages exchanged between A and B, the victim wrote: "We had a team dinner and I threw up 10 times," "They won't let me leave even when I'm drunk," "This place is crazy, they drink too fast," and "As soon as I arrived, I had to down four glasses of soju-beer mix in one shot." B also told A: "I think I have to go to a karaoke room, just the two of us with the (male) team leader, he says he wants to go."
A recalled the period, saying: "She couldn't drink at all, but she had no choice but to attend the dinners for fear of being looked down upon if she skipped them. When she came home, she would vomit several times and was so drunk she couldn't keep herself together."
A also took issue with the Gwangju Fire Headquarters' "death dismissal report." According to A, the Gwangju Fire Headquarters listed "discord with fiancé" as the cause of death in the death dismissal report prepared after B's death in October last year. When A protested, the Gwangju Fire Headquarters reportedly distributed an official document stating it would conduct a reinvestigation. A then visited the National Fire Agency, the higher-level body, along with the bereaved family and fire union officials to demand a fact-finding investigation, and a related inspection began last month.
In response, the Gwangju Fire Headquarters explained that while there had been a request for an inspection, it had determined the matter was not received as a formal complaint. A criticized the document, saying: "Because of that official document, I even had to hear at the funeral hall that 'she died because of her boyfriend,'" adding, "It is an insult to the deceased and a secondary harm to the bereaved family."
In relation to this, President Lee wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "It is truly deplorable that such outdated public officials still exist." He instructed: "Investigate thoroughly, but to ensure objectivity, the investigating body should be the Office for Government Policy Coordination, not the National Fire Agency." He stressed: "If the investigation reveals that forced drinking at company dinners and the dismissal of the inspection request are true, we will impose the maximum level of accountability, including disciplinary action, criminal punishment, civil damages, and reimbursement claims, so that malicious workplace abuse, corruption, and cover-ups can never again be even dreamed of in this country."
