[Editor's Pick] "It's Because of the Manager": A Tear-Stained Suicide Note and the Manager's Explanation at the Funeral

"The only reason I am struggling is because of the manager."

The note shows signs of crossed-out text and smudges, as if tears had fallen onto the hastily scribbled words.

On June 17, Police Officer A, who worked in the administration division of a police station in the Seoul metropolitan area, was found dead, leaving behind a suicide note expressing resentment toward their superior, Superintendent B.

In the note, the officer repeatedly emphasized that their death was not the fault of other colleagues or family members.

After the funeral, the bereaved family met with SBS reporters and identified the workplace bullying by Superintendent B, who had been the officer's supervisor for the past three months, as the cause of the tragedy.

[Family of Officer A: "After the manager arrived, (the officer) called (their mother) frequently. They said, 'He is so nitpicky and seems like a germaphobe. It gives me a headache.'"]

The family claimed that the manager would order the officer to revise report phrasing every hour, demanding changes to even the smallest expressions.

[Family of Officer A: "They said they couldn't do any other work and were just constantly making revisions."]

They also alleged that Superintendent B repeatedly issued unreasonable work orders, such as requiring the officer to come in on weekends to manage air conditioner cleaning and assigning them to pull weeds in the garden.

[Family of Officer A: "They even had to clean air conditioners on the weekend and pull weeds... (Why would a police officer have to pull weeds?)"]

The family expressed their outrage, stating that over the past three months, Officer A frequently engaged in self-deprecation, feeling as though they were incompetent, and often said they were afraid of the morning and could not sleep well.

[Oh Soo-young / Labor Attorney: "We must comprehensively (evaluate) whether there was a professional necessity for these tasks and whether they caused such mental distress to the employee."]

It is reported that when Superintendent B visited the funeral parlor, he apologized to the family but also explained that he was merely trying to be thorough with the work.

Meanwhile, the police station reportedly stated that "the air conditioner cleaning took place on the weekend due to the contractor's schedule, and other staff members also participated in the garden maintenance."

Reporters attempted to contact Superintendent B multiple times to hear his side of the story, but he could not be reached. The bereaved family reiterated that the truth must be clearly uncovered through an official inspection.

[Family of Officer A: "If frontline police officers are struggling and even taking their own lives due to workplace bullying, isn't that a problem? If there is a problem with the system, the system must be improved..."]

([Exclusive] "Because of the Manager": A Tear-Stained Suicide Note... An 'Explanation' at the Funeral, SBS 8 News, June 25, 2026)

Reported by Lee Se-hyun | Video by Lee Seung-hee | VJ: Noh Jae-min | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.