[Anchor]

The results of the Office for Government Policy Coordination's investigation into the death of a female firefighter in her 20s, which we previously reported as an exclusive, have been released. The bereaved family’s claims that the deceased had been under extreme stress until the moment of her death due to her superiors forcing her to drink have been confirmed as true.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae has the story.

[Reporter]

[June 10, SBS 8 News: Last October, a female civil servant in her 20s, identified as A, who worked for the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, took her own life.]

The Gwangju Fire Headquarters and the bereaved family held conflicting positions regarding the reason for the firefighter's death.

The fire department wrote in her death discharge papers that she had "difficulties in her relationship with her fiancé, B," but B’s account was entirely different.

[A's Fiancé: She said a new section chief was coming who liked to drink, and that he told her she didn't participate well in company dinners and didn't drink enough. She was under immense stress when she came home.]

B and the bereaved family requested an internal inspection based on evidence such as the deceased's KakaoTalk messages, but no action was taken for over five months. The inspection only began after they reported the matter to the National Fire Agency, the higher authority.

The day after SBS exclusively reported these details, President Lee Jae-myung ordered the Office for Government Policy Coordination to launch a fact-finding investigation.

The results confirmed that the allegations—including forced drinking by superiors and the suppression of internal inspection requests—were true.

[President Lee Jae-myung: It is the worst kind of workplace abuse. They falsely announced that it was due to conflict with her boyfriend, and when asked to conduct an inspection, they simply ignored it. (Through the Office for Government Policy Coordination's investigation) it has all been revealed to be true.]

The bereaved family emphasized that those involved in the incident must be held strictly accountable.

[A's Mother: I hope this serves as an example so that not only our daughter, but others in the future will not have to go through such things.]

The Fire Headquarters of the National Civil Service Union also submitted a petition to the police last week requesting an investigation into both the bereaved family and the fire department, and related investigations are currently underway.

(Video Editing: Park Sun-soo, Design: Choi Jae-young)