Police Launch Investigation Into Death of Firefighter Who Alleged Forced Drinking

Police have begun verifying facts regarding allegations that workplace bullying was behind the death of a firefighter who took her own life.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Division announced today (June 16) that it has launched a preliminary investigation into allegations that Firefighter A (then 28, female), who was assigned to the Gwangju Gwangsan Fire Station and passed away in October of last year, suffered from workplace bullying while she was alive.

After receiving a petition from the Fire Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union the previous day, the police determined the matter to be serious and assigned the case to a specialized investigation unit within the metropolitan police agency.

The police plan to determine the exact circumstances of her death based on testimonies from the bereaved family, who stated that the deceased had struggled with organizational life, including excessive staff dinners and drinking, before her passing.

If the raised allegations are proven to be true, the police plan to book the individuals involved for criminal charges.

Firefighter A, who took her own life on October 3 of last year, is known to have complained about a series of grievances to her fiancé, family, and others around her.

The Gwangsan Fire Station, where the deceased was assigned, initiated an internal investigation at the request of the bereaved family but concluded it after one week with "no specific findings."

At the time, the Gwangju Fire and Safety Headquarters attributed the cause of Firefighter A's death to "relationship issues with her fiancé." They did not conduct an inspection for over five months, only beginning the process last month after the bereaved family visited the National Fire Agency, a higher-level authority.

The Firefighters' Union held a press conference on June 10 to bring the issue to public attention, and following the directive of President Lee Jae-myung, the Office for Government Policy Coordination is also looking into whether there was forced drinking and the suppression of an inspection.

(Photo: Provided by Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.