Gwangju female firefighter death sparks police probe of defamatory civil servant posts

A 20‑year‑old female firefighter from the Gwangju Mines Fire Station died in October after reporting severe workplace bullying, including forced drinking at team gatherings. A government joint inspection later confirmed that most of the alleged abuse – such as compulsory drinking, forced seating beside a male supervisor and other forms of ‘gapjil’ – was factual and recommended disciplinary action against 17 officials across the fire department.

The victim’s family filed a complaint accusing anonymous civil‑servant users of an internal bulletin board of posthumous defamation, citing posts like “상사가 회식 몇 번 하자고 한 것 가지고” (“because the boss asked for a few gatherings”). Gwangju police have opened an investigation to identify the authors and assess their liability for defamation, while the broader inquiry into the fire department’s culture continues.