President Yoon awards one-rank promotion and medal posthumously to fireman who died in Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk fire

"The Nation Will Not Forget the Deceased's Sacrifice and Dedication"

President Yoon Suk-yeol posthumously promoted two rescue workers who died in the line of duty while suppressing a fire at a meat processing factory in Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk, on the 1st, awarding each a one-rank promotion along with the Order of Okjo Geunjeong.

The Presidential Office announced that Cho Sang-myung, Director of the National Situation Room, visited the funeral homes of the late Firefighter Kim Su-gwang and the late Firefighter Park Su-hoon on behalf of the Presidential Office in the afternoon and offered condolences. Director Cho comforted the bereaved families, conveyed President Yoon’s condolences, and presented the posthumous promotions and medals to the families.

President Yoon said, "It is heartbreaking to lose promising young firefighters to the flames," according to a written briefing by Presidential Spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung.

President Yoon emphasized, "The nation will never forget the sacrifice and dedication of the deceased who rushed into the urgent and dangerous fire scene to protect the community and the lives of the people."

Earlier, upon receiving the tragic news at the Presidential Office that two rescue workers had died while suppressing the fire, President Yoon mourned the two firefighters and said, "I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families who must be plunged into great sorrow due to this sudden accident and to the firefighters who have lost their colleagues."

The funerals for the two firefighters will be held as Gyeongsangbuk-do provincial government funerals for three days, with a memorial service scheduled on the last day, the 3rd, at Dongnak Hall within the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office. The remains will be interred at the National Daejeon Cemetery.

Police are guarding the factory fire site in Singidong, Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk on the 1st. Two firefighters died in the line of duty while conducting rescue operations here. [Image source=Yonhap News]