Seoul City Councilor Park Yujin: "Suicide of Firefighter Battling Cancer Calls for Strengthened Human Rights Protection in Seoul"

"Human Rights Officer Should Exist as an Independent City Organization"

Park Yujin, Seoul City Council Member.

Park Yoo-jin, a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Eunpyeong 3), referred to a case last year where a firefighter diagnosed with stage 4 hematologic cancer committed suicide due to an inappropriate audit by the Seoul Metropolitan Audit Committee, urging the strengthening of human rights protection for public officials and the establishment of practical measures by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

On the 14th, Park announced that she condemned once again the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s administration that disregards the sacrifice and dedication of firefighters during the recent 323rd extraordinary session’s administrative questioning.

Park stated, “There was a case where an excellent firefighter who had even received a presidential commendation was forced to submit supporting documents more than three times over suspicions of improperly receiving a family allowance of 20,000 KRW per month, and out of shame, made an extreme choice,” adding, “The Audit Committee’s excessive demand for supporting documents, despite not being a prosecutorial body, was clearly an abuse of power in the audit, and as a result, a precious firefighter tragically lost their life.”

She questioned, “Shouldn’t the Seoul Metropolitan Audit Committee or the Mayor of Seoul officially express regret for this precious sacrifice and prepare measures to prevent recurrence?”

Park also pointed out, “The fundamental problem lies in the fact that the Human Rights Officer’s Office is under the Audit Committee, making it impossible to conduct proper investigations and protect the human rights of public officials who suffer unfair treatment,” and demanded administrative correction, saying, “Since Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s tenure, the function of the Human Rights Officer has been diminished, and the organization, which should be an independent body, has been assigned under the Audit Committee, thus failing to guarantee its independence.”

On the day, Mayor Oh responded that the meaning of the audit should not be belittled just because an extreme choice occurred as a result, and said he would look into the detailed circumstances, according to Park.