17 Civil Servants Placed on Standby Over 'Gwangju Female Firefighter Death Case'

Fire Headquarters to Convene Personnel Committee Soon
Disciplinary Action to Be Taken Based on Degree of Involvement

Fire officials involved in the death of a female firefighter in Gwangju have been placed on standby duty.

On June 29, the Gwangju Fire Headquarters announced that, following a disciplinary request from the Office for Government Policy Coordination’s Joint Public Service Discipline Inspection Team, a total of 17 personnel—6 from the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, 9 from the Gwangsan Fire Station, and 2 from the National Fire Agency—were placed on standby duty on June 25. This action was taken as a follow-up measure after violations of regulations were confirmed by the investigation, approximately eight months after Fire Sergeant A, a female firefighter from the Gwangsan Fire Station, passed away in October of last year.

The individuals excluded from work are not reporting to duty and will be referred to the personnel committee, where the level of disciplinary action will be determined. The Gwangju Fire Headquarters plans to begin disciplinary procedures after receiving the official investigation report from the Office for Government Policy Coordination, based on an assessment of each responsible person’s degree of involvement.

Yonhap News Agency

The Office for Government Policy Coordination conducted the investigation at the direction of President Lee Jaemyung and uncovered multiple violations of regulations, including workplace bullying, forced attendance at after-work gatherings and drinking, and the dismissal of the bereaved family's request for an internal audit. Fire Sergeant A was virtually compelled to attend 24 drinking gatherings over a period of 15 months. In some cases, she was forced to consume so-called "one-shot" bombs (a type of alcoholic beverage) in a single gulp. She was also reportedly ordered to "sit between the fire chief and the department head," "sit next to the department head," and was forced to prepare various events for superiors and run personal errands. When the bereaved family requested an internal audit regarding the death, the Gwangsan Fire Station ended the investigation with a perfunctory conclusion of "no special circumstances."

Based on its findings, the Office for Government Policy Coordination called for strict disciplinary action against the 17 firefighters found to have engaged in misconduct and requested an investigation into two retired fire officials with management responsibility.

An official at the Gwangju Fire Headquarters said, "Once we receive the official investigation report from the Office for Government Policy Coordination, we will verify the extent of each responsible person’s involvement in the misconduct, convene a personnel committee, and proceed with disciplinary action."

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