"Forced to 'Down' Bomb Shots Until 2 AM": Mass Disciplinary Action Demanded

[Anchor]

Specific instances of misconduct have been confirmed regarding the case of a woman in her 20s who died after suffering from forced drinking. Investigations revealed that company dinners sometimes lasted until 2 a.m. and that she was even instructed to call her superiors "oppa" (a term used by women to address older males). The inspection team has demanded severe disciplinary action against 17 firefighters.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the story.

[Reporter]

These are KakaoTalk messages sent to her fiancé by a female firefighter in her 20s, surnamed A, from the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, who took her own life last October.

The messages, which include phrases like "I had a team dinner and threw up 10 times" and "I begged them, saying I felt like I was going to die," clearly capture the suffering she endured while she was alive.

A joint government inspection team's investigation has confirmed the allegations of forced drinking and workplace harassment raised by the bereaved family.

The findings show that for 15 months, from July 2024 until just before her death, she was forced to attend department dinners on 24 separate occasions. Some of these gatherings moved to nightclubs or karaoke bars and continued until 2 a.m. the following day.

It was revealed that participants were forced to "down" bomb shots (a mix of beer and spirits) in a relay-style drinking game known as "padotagi" (wave-riding). She was also assigned seats between male superiors and instructed to call them "oppa."

The inspection team also stated that the local fire station effectively conducted a "self-investigation" by appointing the official accused of the bullying as the head of internal inspections, thereby ignoring the family's requests for a proper probe.

[Lee Chang-seok / Chairman of the Firefighters' Union under the Federation of Korean Public Officials Unions: I believe this is an opportunity to completely reform the inspection culture and the closed-off nature of the fire department.]

The results of this inspection were released 12 days after the Office for Government Policy Coordination launched a direct investigation on June 12, following an order from President Lee Jae-myung. The inspection team has demanded that the National Fire Agency impose severe disciplinary action on the 17 individuals whose misconduct was confirmed, and has requested a police investigation into two others who have already retired.

[Fiancé of A: I hope that instead of slandering her with unverified suspicions or criticism, people will respect the revealed facts and the investigation results as they are.]

(Video Editing: Won Hyeong-hui, Design: Park Cheon-ung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.