“Dad, I miss you. Let’s meet again, for sure”: Six-year-old daughter’s letter placed before the portrait of a firefighter who died in the line of duty

[Financial News] “I love you, Dad. I miss you. I love you!”A letter written to her father by the young daughter of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok, who died in the line of duty in a fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, has touched many. The letter was written by Kim’s daughter, who is due to start elementary school next year, and was posted on social media by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Song Young-gil (Incheon Yeonsu A), who visited Kim’s funeral at Bucheon Soonchunhyang Hospital on the 18th.

In the short letter, which began “To my dear Dad, whom I miss,” Kim’s daughter wrote, “Dad passed away yesterday, but I miss you so much even now. We’re at the funeral hall now.” She also wrote, “I know that Dad loved me the most. My dear Dad, let’s be sure to meet again someday. By then, I’ll probably be grown up,” among other things.
Kim’s daughter ended the letter by writing, “I love you. Dad, I miss you. I love you,” and drew a fire engine alongside the word “Dispatch” to express how much she missed her father.
Alongside a photo of the letter, Song said, “Seeing the memorial portrait and the letter written to her father by his six-year-old daughter and placed in front of it brings tears to my eyes,” adding, “I resolve to do my utmost to prevent the tragedy of a firefighter’s greeting before work becoming their last.”
At around 8:38 a.m. on the 16th, a fire broke out at a metal injection-molding and printing plant in Nae-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, and was extinguished 2 hours and 28 minutes later. The fire killed Kim and seriously injured another firefighter in their 40s. Four other firefighters received hospital treatment for symptoms of heat exhaustion, while two factory employees were treated for smoke inhalation and other conditions. Eight people in all suffered injuries ranging from moderate to serious.

According to his family, Kim, a veteran firefighter in his 11th year, had completed a 24-hour shift and was about to finish work at 9 a.m. on the day of the fire. But at 8:38 a.m., with only about 20 minutes left before he was due to leave, he heard news of the fire during the shift handover, climbed into the fire engine without hesitation, and never returned.
The four firefighters who arrived as the first response team, including Kim, immediately entered the building and went to the third floor to fight the fire. But the flames spread in an instant, trapping two of them, including Kim, inside. The colleague who entered with him was rescued by a narrow margin, but Kim was found only 27 minutes later, about 5 meters deeper inside. He was already in cardiac arrest.
To honor Kim, the government posthumously promoted him one rank, from Fire Sergeant to Fire Lieutenant, and awarded him the Okjo Order of Service Merit. It also plans to support his burial at the National Cemetery, among other measures.
Kim, who was in his eighth year of marriage, was reportedly planning to move soon to an apartment in Gyeonggi Province and make a new home with his wife and daughter, who is due to start elementary school next year.
[email protected] Kim Hee-seon Reporter