Busan Fire Station Executive's Abuse of Power: "Forced Work Like a Maid, Embezzled Allowances"

On the 9th, JTBC reported that a fire station officer is suspected of receiving allowances without coming to work and calling subordinates on their days off to perform personal tasks. Photo by JTBC Broadcast Screen Capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A senior officer at a fire station in Busan is suspected of receiving allowances without showing up for work and calling subordinates on their days off to perform personal tasks.

On the 9th, JTBC reported that it had obtained the work records of the fire station from July 2018 to October this year.

According to the report, the senior officer claimed overtime pay even on days off marked as 'off-duty' in the work orders.

Looking at the work records, it is recorded as 'day shift' on 'off-duty days', making it appear as if the officer worked. Also, there is an entry showing attendance on April 31, a date that does not exist on the calendar.

Employees claim that "this happened under the officer's orders."

These 'fake work' instances were found to total 19 confirmed cases.

Additionally, employees allege that the senior officer exploited them for personal use, verbally abused them, and harassed them.

One firefighter in his 30s even wrote a handwritten diary stating, "My direct superior has been harassing me for nearly a year, making it hard to endure. On days off, the officer frequently calls us out and treats us like chauffeurs."

The diary also notes that "the officer ordered late-night food delivery for himself during a typhoon emergency assembly because he wanted Chungmu Kimbap."

It appears that employees had to curry favor with the officer by offering food and other items to take leave.

One firefighter appealed, "(The officer treated us) like servants, to the point where we wanted to quit. We cried a lot."

Unable to endure any longer, the subordinates gathered evidence of this tyranny and corruption and reported it internally.

The senior officer denied "ever exploiting or harassing subordinates personally," but remained tight-lipped about the allegations of fraudulent allowances.

The officer said, "(Personal use) There was none. Absolutely none. Since the investigation is not yet complete, it is difficult for me to comment precisely."

The Busan Fire Headquarters investigated the internal report but has not released results for over a month. However, it is reported that once JTBC began its investigation, they responded that they would promptly hold a disciplinary committee and impose sanctions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.