Head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Lee Hyung Chul, confirmed in a speech the dismissal of duty of the aforementioned firefighters during the National Administrative Safety Committee on Friday, October 18.
"We confirmed the two employees who leaked the reports on social media, and after interrogation, have decided to dismiss them from duty. We will take the appropriate measures to strengthen security training to prevent recurrences," Kwon Min Hyuk, a Democratic Party member, stated.
"Strict disciplinary standards are required for special reports. There should be harsh punishment for those that share this information through social media and friends and family. Leaking reports is like killing someone twice. There need to be guidelines concerning the leaking of reports. Please give a direct apology to the family members," he added.
Kim Min Ki, also a member of the Democratic Party, added, "The reports that have leaked on domestic and foreign sites were in different states when posted. I feel as if they did not think it was a big deal when posting these reports online. They need to know how much pain it would have caused if these things leak."
Sulli passed away on October 14 after she was found unconscious insider her home in Seoul. The fire department then issued a public apology on October 17 after the leakage of the report.
Jung Yo Ahn, the officer in charge of the monitoring and auditing department, said, "It is very shameful and disappointing that internal information was leaked externally by firefighters, who must show model behavior as public servants and show integrity as they serve to protect the lives and property of citizens."
He added, "The information was leaked onto social media through an employee in the process of internally sharing updated reports, and the details were then posted on well-known portal sites and blogs. We have explained to the people managing these portal sites and blogs that externally sharing such information is illegal, and have taken the necessary steps."
The officer went on, "We are currently in the process of investigating how the information was leaked, and once we have a firm understanding of the facts, there will be strong action taken according to the related laws," and "We will also be going over our internal reporting system, strengthen our education program, and pursue other measures to ensure this does not happen again."
