"This Place Is Crazy, Four Somaek Shots as Soon as I Arrived" "I Feel Like I'm Going to Die"... KakaoTalk Messages Left by Deceased Female Firefighter in Her 20s

The Deceased's Boyfriend Exposes Workplace Harassment

KakaoTalk conversation between the deceased Gwangju firefighter and his boyfriend. Yonhap News Agency

Amid allegations that a female firefighter in her twenties from the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters took her own life due to workplace bullying, the deceased’s boyfriend has called for a thorough investigation, raising concerns about a coercive drinking culture and power harassment within the organization.

The incident began in October of last year, when the female firefighter, referred to as Ms. A, was found dead. The sudden news of Ms. A’s death, who had already completed family meetings in preparation for her wedding later this year, came as a great shock to those around her.

The Deceased’s Boyfriend: “She Suffered Due to Excessive Drinking Culture at Work”

On June 11, in an interview with Yonhap News, Ms. A’s boyfriend explained, “(The team members) pressured her to drink late into the night and forced her to go to karaoke bars even when she didn’t want to. As someone who couldn’t handle alcohol well, my girlfriend was always stressed about these gatherings.”

The KakaoTalk messages released by Mr. A included passages such as, “I think I have to go to karaoke with the (male) team leader alone,” reflecting her discomfort with unreasonable demands from her superior.

There were also messages showing her distress: “I threw up 10 times during the team dinner,” “Even when I got drunk, they wouldn’t let me go home,” “This place is crazy, they drink too fast,” “As soon as we arrived, I had to down four soju and beer shots,” “I really drank a lot,” and “I feel like I’m going to die.”

Mr. A also said, “They pressured my girlfriend, who was about to go on an overseas trip, to buy alcohol and other items, making her carry two suitcases. She was forced to attend gatherings she didn’t want to go to, and they made only her drive her car to these events. This kind of abuse of authority was ongoing.”

Dismissal Report Cited “Relationship Anxiety with Boyfriend”... “An Insult to the Deceased”

He also raised an issue with the “dismissal report” written by the Gwangju Fire Headquarters after her death. The official document reportedly cited her previous counseling records and stated that she “complained of anxiety and difficulties regarding her relationship with her boyfriend.”

Mr. A said, “Because of that official document, I had to endure people at the funeral, where I was the chief mourner, saying absurd things like ‘She died because of her boyfriend.’ This is a severe insult to my girlfriend and constitutes clear secondary harm to the bereaved family.”

The fire headquarters did not inform the bereaved family in advance that such statements would be included in the official document. Mr. A later discovered this and requested that the document be revised and the case re-investigated, but no proper action was taken afterward. He stated, “I wanted to settle matters quietly, but due to the lukewarm response from the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, I had no choice but to bring this issue to the public’s attention.”

President Lee: “If Forced Drinking and Ignored Whistleblowing Are Proven, There Will Be Maximum Disciplinary Action”

President Lee Jae-myung. Photo by Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung has directly ordered a thorough investigation and signaled the strongest possible disciplinary action. On this day, President Lee stated on social networking services (SNS), “It is truly deplorable that such outdated public officials still exist.”

He continued, “Investigate thoroughly not only the causes and circumstances of the firefighter’s death, including forced drinking at work gatherings, but also the details of how whistleblowing requests for inspection were ignored. To ensure objectivity, the Office for Government Policy Coordination—not the Fire Agency—will lead the investigation.”

President Lee emphasized, “If the investigation reveals that forced drinking and ignored requests for inspection are true, I will pursue the strongest possible disciplinary measures, including not only disciplinary action but also criminal prosecution, civil damages, and indemnity claims. I will make sure that in this country, no one will ever again dare to force drinking at work or cover up and ignore workplace harassment or corruption.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.