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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Elections & Politics

South Korean President Orders Probe into Firefighter's Suicide After Alleged Forced Drinking

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • A female firefighter in Gwangju, South Korea, died by suicide after allegedly being forced to drink with her superiors.
  • The fire department initially tried to attribute her death to personal issues, but evidence from her fiancé suggests workplace coercion.
  • President Lee Jae-myung has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident, condemning the alleged abuse of power and the fire department's initial report.

A 29-year-old female firefighter in Gwangju, South Korea, died by suicide on October 3rd last year, allegedly after being pressured by her superiors to drink alcohol during a work gathering. The incident has drawn outrage from President Lee Jae-myung, who has demanded a comprehensive investigation into the alleged abuse of power and a cover-up attempt by the fire department.

She was forced to accompany him to karaoke afterwards

— Fiancé of the deceased firefighterDescribing the events of the night the firefighter was pressured to drink.

According to reports, the situation for the firefighter, identified by her surname Jung, worsened after a new superior took charge at the Gwangsan Fire Station in August 2024. Her fiancé provided chat logs showing Jung complaining about being forced to drink multiple glasses of soju and beer mixes at a gathering. He also revealed that her superior insisted she accompany him to karaoke afterward, a request she only avoided after her fiancé urged her to refuse.

She was completely unable to drink and attending department dinners was out of necessity because she feared being ostracized.

— Fiancé of the deceased firefighterExplaining the firefighter's reluctance to attend work gatherings.

Jung's fiancé stated that she had a low alcohol tolerance and attended the work dinners out of fear of being ostracized. He described instances where she would return home vomiting multiple times or become too intoxicated to change her clothes. Despite requests from Jung's fiancé and family for an investigation, the Gwangju Fire and Maritime Affairs Office allegedly ignored their pleas until the family appealed to the national Fire Agency in May.

These superiors treat female employees like playthings

— President Lee Jae-myungCondemning the alleged behavior of superiors towards female employees.

President Lee Jae-myung confirmed the family's account, expressing anger over the Gwangju Fire and Maritime Affairs Office's report that suggested Jung's death was due to relationship problems. He called this a "secondary injury" to her fiancé and family. Lee ordered all government departments to conduct internal reviews to prevent similar incidents, denouncing the alleged practice where female employees are treated as "playthings" by superiors who often fail to recognize the severity of their actions.

The Gwangju Fire and Maritime Affairs Office's lie caused secondary damage to Jung's fiancé and family.

— President Lee Jae-myungCriticizing the fire department's initial report on the cause of death.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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