"Refusing to Clean Trash" Leading to Axe Rampage... Security Guards Exposed to Violence

"One Year After Enforcement of the 'Security Guard Abuse Prevention Act,' Verbal Abuse and Violence Persist
"Short-Term Contracts of 3 to 6 Months Cause Job Insecurity, Making It Difficult to Refuse Unreasonable Demands""

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] More than a year has passed since the enforcement of the amendment to the Apartment Housing Management Act, commonly known as the 'Security Guard Abuse Prevention Act,' but security guards are still exposed to verbal abuse and violence. Security guards, who suffer from job insecurity due to short-term contracts of less than one year, find it difficult to refuse unreasonable demands from residents.

Recently, in an apartment complex in Gangnam, Seoul, a resident in his 50s, Mr. A, was booked by the police on the 13th for causing a disturbance by destroying the security office with an axe, claiming that "the management office is not doing its job properly." Around 3 a.m. that day, Mr. A dragged furniture from the apartment recycling area and smashed it with an axe. The discarded furniture had reportedly been left unattended for about 3 to 4 weeks without any report. Mr. A continued the disturbance for more than 30 minutes and only stopped after the police, who had been called, arrived on the scene.

In November last year, the prosecution demanded a prison sentence of one year and six months for a man in his 20s who was tried on charges of verbally abusing and threatening an apartment security guard for several years. This man, a resident of the apartment, is accused of abusing about ten security guards and management staff since 2019 by making unreasonable demands beyond security duties, such as air conditioner cleaning, restroom cleaning, and parcel delivery. When his demands were refused, he filed complaints about negligence, and he reportedly spat in the face of a security guard in his 50s, who was like a father figure to him, telling him to "bark like a dog."

As abuse of security guards became a serious issue, the government amended the Apartment Housing Management Act last October to clearly define the scope of security workers' duties. However, since security positions often involve ultra-short-term contracts of three or six months, security guards have no choice but to comply with unreasonable demands from residents to have their contracts renewed.

According to the Chungnam Labor Rights Center in March, 91.3% of 432 security workers in the province had contracts of less than one year. Among them, 15.6% had ultra-short-term contracts of less than three months. A survey conducted by the Busan Labor Rights Center in May last year on 615 security workers in the Busan area also showed that 7 out of 10 had ultra-short-term contracts of less than three months.

There are also calls for improving public perception of security guards before institutional reforms. It is argued that social awareness of essential workers who maintain and manage apartment complexes must be enhanced.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province recently established the '17th Gyeonggi Province Apartment Housing Management Regulations' to prevent abuse by residents. The regulations include guidelines for preventing and responding to harassment of apartment housing management workers, such as security guards, cleaners, and management office staff, who have frequently been subjected to abuse by residents.

Accordingly, from now on, apartments with more than 300 households in Gyeonggi Province must mandatorily establish regulations prohibiting residents' abuse of security guards and management office staff.