A South Korean female firefighter was forced to have a meal and drink with her superiors and then committed suicide. President Lee Jae-myung angrily ordered a thorough investigation. (AFP)
A 29-year-old female firefighter surnamed Zheng from the Gwangsan Fire Department under the Gwangju Metropolitan City Fire Safety Headquarters in South Korea committed suicide on October 3 last year after being forced to have a meal and drink with her superiors. The unit also tried to cover up the fact. President Lee Jae-myung angrily denounced the incident during a meeting at the Blue House today (23rd), demanding that all government departments thoroughly investigate whether such outrageous behavior occurred, and hold relevant people accountable for abusing their power.
According to the Chosun Ilbo, Chung became a firefighter in Gwangju four years ago. In August 2024, the Gwangsan Fire Department where she worked had a new chief, and the situation of Chung being forced to drink with her began to intensify. After her suicide, the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters issued a report on October 10, 2025, stating that she had consulted for relationship issues in June of the same year, and apparently tried to blame the fault on her boyfriend, who was engaged to her.
However, from the chat records provided by Zheng's fiancé, we can see that Zheng once complained that she drank 4 cups of soobeer (a mixture of South Korean soju and beer) as soon as she arrived at the dinner party. The superior also asked Zheng to accompany him alone to the karaoke OK to renew the stall. In the end, her fiancé persuaded her to refuse and then did not go.
Her fiancé said that Zheng was not allowed to drink at all and had no choice but to attend department dinners because she was worried that she would be ostracized if she didn't go. Sometimes she would vomit several times after dinners and even be so drunk that she couldn't even change her clothes.
Zheng's fiancé and her family asked the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters to launch an investigation, but they were ignored. It was not until the bereaved family went to the Fire Department (South Korea's highest firefighting agency) to file a complaint in May this year that things started to change.
On the 11th of this month, the firefighters' union held a press conference at the Gwangju City Hall, calling on the authorities to thoroughly investigate the truth behind Zheng's death and hold them accountable. On the same day, Lee ordered the State Adjustment Office to investigate the reasons for Zheng's suicide and whether the family's appeals were ignored.
According to the Dong-A Ilbo, Lee Jae-myeong confirmed at the Blue House that everything said by Jung's family members was true. He also heard that this kind of trend still exists in some departments, that is, during dinner parties, female employees are deliberately arranged to sit next to their bosses to help pour wine and are forced to drink together. These bosses simply treat female employees as playthings, and often do not realize the seriousness of this behavior.
In response to the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters’ accusation that Zheng Nv was having relationship problems with her fiancé, Lee Jae-myung angrily denounced the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters’ lies for causing secondary harm to Zheng Nv’s fiancé and her family, and ordered all government departments to conduct thorough internal inspections to avoid similar situations from happening again.
The Free E-Newsletter cares about you: Suicide cannot solve the problem. Bravely asking for help is not a weak person. There is warmth everywhere in society, and you will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties.
Safe hotline: 1925
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☆Excessive drinking is harmful to health. Drunk driving is prohibited☆
