[Anchor]

As reported by SBS, a female firefighter in her 20s who suffered from excessive workplace drinking culture took her own life. An investigation by the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister's Office has confirmed that allegations, including forced drinking and the dismissal of requests for internal inspections, were true.

Bae Seong-jae reports.

[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 views on 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 completely different.

[Fiancé of A: 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 such. 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 it was not conducted for over five months. The inspection only began after they notified the National Fire Agency, a higher-level organization.

The day after SBS exclusively reported these details, President Lee Jae-myung ordered an investigation by the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

The results confirmed that the raised allegations, including forced drinking by superiors and the dismissal of inspection requests, were true.

[President Lee Jae-myung: It is the worst kind of (workplace) abuse. They made a fake announcement as if it were due to a conflict with her boyfriend, and when asked to investigate, they simply dismissed it. (The investigation by the Office for Government Policy Coordination) shows that all of this has been revealed to be true.]

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

[Mother of A: I hope this serves as an example so that not only our daughter, but others will not have to face such incidents in the future.]

The fire headquarters branch of the Korean Government Employees' 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 Seon-soo, Design: Choi Jae-young)