KakaoTalk messages exchanged between the late Gwangju firefighter and her boyfriend. [Yonhap]
KakaoTalk messages exchanged between the late Gwangju firefighter and her boyfriend. [Yonhap]

Police have launched an investigation after disparaging comments about a female firefighter who took her own life following workplace harassment appeared on an internal civil servant online forum.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday, the family of Fire Officer A, who was attached to the Gwangsan Fire Station in the Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated special city, recently filed a complaint asking that the author of the comments be punished.

The complaint states that posts appeared on a civil servant forum for the Jeonnam-Gwangju special city containing remarks such as "her supervisor only asked her to have dinner together a few times" — comments the family says defame the deceased officer. The family is seeking punishment on charges including posthumous defamation.

Police have completed their interview with the complainant and are now investigating the identity of the comment author and the circumstances surrounding the posts.

Fire Officer A died by suicide on Oct. 3 last year after speaking out about the pain caused by excessive after-work drinking sessions, coerced alcohol consumption and an oppressive workplace culture. Investigators found she had attended 24 drinking gatherings over 15 months and was pressured to down mixed shots in one go at some of those events.

It was also confirmed that she had been ordered to sit next to male superiors — with instructions such as "sit between the chief and the section head" and "sit next to the section head" — and was compelled to handle various event preparations for her superiors and run personal errands on their behalf.

A government audit by the Office for Government Policy Coordination confirmed that most of the harassment allegations were true, and 17 people were placed on standby orders on June 25 — six from the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, nine from the Gwangsan Fire Station and two from the National Fire Agency. They have been removed from their duties and will be referred to a personnel committee to determine the level of disciplinary action.

If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare's helpline 1393, available 24/7. Please request a translator for English-language services.


betterj@heraldcorp.com