Firefighter pulls out straw, places chrysanthemum in tribute video that goes viral

Amid the continuing controversy over Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's remark calling the fire department a "fiscal straw," a video by an active-duty firefighter has gone viral — showing him pulling out a straw and placing a chrysanthemum in its place as a tribute to a colleague who died in the line of duty.

The one-minute, eight-second video, titled "Straw," was posted Tuesday on the YouTube channel "Firefighter Uncle." It opens with a yellow straw standing in a glass of water. A firefighter wearing a mourning ribbon walks in holding a single white chrysanthemum, removes the straw from the glass, places the flower in its place, and silently walks off screen. The screen then fades to black, and a message reading "We pray for the repose of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok" remains on screen for more than 40 seconds.

In the video description, the channel operator wrote: "We pray for the repose of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok, who fulfilled his duty to the end to protect the lives and safety of the public at the factory fire scene in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. We wish a swift recovery to the colleagues and fellow firefighters who worked at that scene."

Within a day of being posted, the video surpassed 200,000 views and drew more than 1,300 comments. Viewers left messages including "Thank you for protecting us all this time" and "It's both astonishing and heartbreaking that anger can be expressed so briefly, powerfully and with such dignity."

"Firefighter Uncle" is a channel run by Na Gyeong-jin, a firefighter at Jincheon Fire Station under the North Chungcheong Province fire department, which he has operated since November 2021. Na has typically used parody and humor to share fire safety information in an accessible way, but this time he set aside the laughs to pay tribute to a fallen colleague.

The controversy began when Governor Choo, during a national audit of Gyeonggi Province by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on Oct. 13, remarked that "the fire department feels like the biggest headache — like a fiscal straw" while criticizing the structure that requires local governments to shoulder a significant portion of the budget for firefighters who were reclassified as national civil servants.

After the firefighters' union pushed back, saying the comment demeaned the dedication of firefighters, Gyeonggi Province said the remark was not intended to disparage firefighters but to highlight the fiscal burden on local governments.

Criticism intensified after Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok died Friday while battling a factory fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province — three days after Choo's remark.

Governor Choo visited Kim's funeral home Saturday and said, "If my intention was conveyed differently than I meant, I express my deep regret," adding, "Since you are asking for an apology, I sincerely apologize with all my heart." The remarks drew fresh criticism over their sincerity.

On Monday, the day of Kim's funeral, fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Bu Seung-chan further inflamed the controversy during a national audit of Gyeonggi Province by the National Assembly's Land and Infrastructure Committee, when he defended Choo and said the fire department was "really sucking up the budget dry."

Choo apologized to firefighters at the audit session the same day, and on Tuesday she bowed her head before officials from the Korean Government Employees' Union's fire department chapter, saying, "I again offer my sincerest apologies."

The union called for the apology to be followed by concrete action — expanded fire department funding, increased staffing at fire scenes, and a full investigation into the circumstances of Kim's death.

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik on Tuesday called on the Democratic Party to impose its harshest disciplinary measures on both Choo and Bu. The Democratic Party decided at its supreme council meeting Wednesday to issue formal warnings to both Governor Choo and lawmaker Bu.