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South Jeolla community mourns two firefighters killed in blaze amid calls for better staffing

Published: 13 Apr. 2026, 21:13

Funeral wreath outside the Wando Daeseung Hospital, where the funeral for the two firefighters who passed away trying to extinguish the fire at a freezer is taking place, on April 13 [JOONGANG ILBO]

WANDO, South Jeolla — Tears filled funeral halls in Wando County on Monday as mourners paid tribute to two firefighters killed while battling a blaze at a seafood cold-storage warehouse.

The deaths of 44-year-old fire lieutenant Park Seung-won and senior firefighter Noh Tae-young, aged 30, have plunged the county into grief and renewed criticism of front-line staffing.

Park and Noh were dispatched to the warehouse fire at about 8:25 a.m. on Sunday. They went into the building during a second round of firefighting and were killed when oil vapor exploded. Authorities believe the fire began while a torch was being used to strip paint inside the warehouse.

A joint funeral service will take place at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at the Wando Farmers and Fishers Cultural and Sports Center. The two will later be buried at the firefighters’ section of Daejeon National Cemetery.

Mourners wept inside and outside the funeral hall on Monday morning. Visitors to Park’s altar cried with the bereaved and remembered a veteran firefighter who had spent 19 years rescuing people from fires at the Wando Fire Station.

Soldiers pay respects to the firefighters who passed away trying to extinguish the fire at a freezer at the joint memorial altar at the Wando Culture and Arts Center on April 13. [NEWS1]

Colleagues remembered Park as the father of three children and a senior firefighter who looked after younger co-workers.

“He was always the first to step forward,” one colleague said. “He would have led the way into the scene that day, too.” The colleague added, “I can still see him proudly showing us photos of his three children. It breaks my heart to think of him leaving behind such young kids.”

"He was always the one who took the lead at dangerous scenes and looked after junior staff first," another firefighter said. "I still can’t get over the shock of losing such a good person and a true firefighter."

The grief was just as heavy at Noh’s funeral hall. Noh had been set to marry in October. Five years into his job, Noh had quietly carried out every assignment and had been known as a diligent firefighter.

Students from Wando High School pay respects to the firefighters at the joint memorial altar at the Wando Culture and Arts Center on April 13. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Noh primarily worked as an ambulance driver, assisting paramedics at the Haenam Fire Station. But the death deepened the sense of tragedy after it emerged that Noh had been sent to assist a pump truck crew because of a lack of personnel.

Co-workers who came to pay their respects said poor working conditions had all but blurred the boundaries between assignments. “Because there are not enough personnel on site, firefighters are often sent into duties outside their main jobs,” the secretary general of the South Jeolla fire branch of the Korean Government Employees’ Union said.

“We need to increase staffing at local fire units, which are the first to arrive at a scene, so this kind of tragedy is not repeated.”

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pays respects at the Wando Daesung Hospital in South Jeolla, where funerals for the two firefighters who passed away trying to extinguish the fire at a freezer. [PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE]

President Lee Jae Myung sent a condolence message honoring the two firefighters. Hong Ihk-pyo, a senior presidential secretary, read it aloud at the funeral hall. “We will never forget that the dedication and sense of duty shown by the deceased, who ran into blazing flames to save the lives of the people, helped build the safe Korea we live in today,” Lee said.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung also visited the funeral hall to pay their respects. Kim personally placed the Order of Service Merit in front of the portraits of the two firefighters before consoling the bereaved families.

A steady stream of mourners also visited a joint memorial altar set up at the Wando Culture and Arts Center. A total of 135 first-year students from nearby Wando High School arrived in uniform and stood in line to pay their respects. They later returned to school, wiping away tears. The students were classmates of Park’s son.

“He was the father of a close friend, and I had known him since middle school. Seeing him in a memorial portrait made my tears pour out," A 16-year-old boy who called Park an 'uncle' said. "I feel so terrible for my friend, who lost his father. I can’t stop crying.”

Students from Wando High School queue outside the joint memorial altar at the Wando Culture and Arts Center on April 13. [JOONGANG ILBO]

During Tuesday’s funeral service, the two firefighters will be posthumously promoted by one rank and awarded the Order of Service Merit. Burial will follow at 4 p.m. at Daejeon National Cemetery.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HWANG HAE-GYU [[email protected]]