“I Really Didn’t Want to Go Public…” Why Fiancé Revealed Late Girlfriend’s KakaoTalk Messages

[Fiancé of Victim A / News Hunters: A new team leader was coming, and they were known to be a heavy drinker. That’s when (the deceased’s) worries began. She was afraid that if she got on their bad side, everything she had worked so hard to endure would be for nothing... That was the beginning.]

In October of last year, a female public official in her 20s, identified as A, who worked for the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, took her own life.

During her lifetime, A had continuously expressed her distress to her fiancé, B, regarding excessive forced drinking and the workplace culture surrounding company dinners.

[Reporter Kim Gyu-ri / News Hunters: There were messages like, 'I had to down four glasses of somaek (soju mixed with beer) immediately upon arriving at the company dinner,' 'I vomited 10 times during the team dinner,' 'They won't let me leave even when I'm drunk,' 'I feel like I'm going to die,' and 'I have to go to a karaoke bar alone with the team leader.' ]

However, the death discharge document that was released stated that she had difficulties in her relationship with her fiancé, B.

Upon discovering this belatedly, B requested an internal inspection from the Gwangju Fire Headquarters, but the process did not move forward for over five months. The inspection only began in May, after B visited the National Fire Agency, the higher supervisory body.

The fire union, which reported the incident to SBS, stated, "There is no hope within Gwangju. No matter how many times we raise the issue, there seems to be no will to address it."

[Fiancé of Victim A / News Hunters: She would come home drunk at 7 p.m., or drunk at 9 p.m. On really late nights, they would keep her drinking at a karaoke bar until 2:30 a.m... She couldn't even change her clothes, would collapse and fall asleep in the entryway, and would vomit as soon as she got home.]

Fiancé B expressed his frustration, saying, "I didn't want A to become the subject of public gossip, but going to the media was my last resort."

The Gwangju Fire Headquarters had a different stance.

[Official from Gwangju Fire Headquarters / News Hunters: If he had provided us with objective data via email, we would have likely provided him with the application form. I wouldn't feel so aggrieved if he had no way to contact me, but it's baffling to be asked why we didn't investigate when we had already informed him of everything.]

They claimed that B never followed up after saying he would submit the materials.

However, an internal report obtained by SBS stated that "it is necessary to verify the facts of the death discharge document" and that "a re-investigation will be conducted."

This confirms that the Gwangju Fire Headquarters also acknowledged the need for a re-investigation.

President Lee Jae-myung cited the SBS report, stating, "This is truly deplorable," and ordered a thorough investigation led by the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

Separately from this incident, it was revealed that one of the superiors identified as an alleged perpetrator had already been reported to the internal anonymous reporting system for other allegations of workplace bullying.

Reported by Lee Se-young | Video by Lee Da-in | Source: News Hunters | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.