[2023 National Audit] 'Malicious Complaints' Troubling Public Officials Total 120,000 Cases Over 5 Years

Malicious complaints such as verbal abuse, assault, and sexual harassment directed at public officials have reached 120,000 cases over the past five years.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Kim Yong-pan, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the People Power Party, on the 10th, the number of illegal acts by complainants from 2018 to last year amounted to 123,977 cases.

Kim Yong-pan, a member of the People Power Party, is attending the National Assembly's inspection of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Police Agency, and others at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee held on the 26th, making a personal statement. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The number of malicious complaints, which was 18,525 cases in 2018, recorded its highest at 27,133 cases in 2021, with 25,548 cases in 2019, 26,086 cases in 2020, and then slightly decreased to 26,685 cases last year compared to the previous year.

Last year, by region, the 수도권 (Capital Region) had the highest number with 15,898 cases, followed by the Gyeongsang region with 7,455 cases, the Chungcheong region with 2,840 cases, the Gangwon region with 363 cases, and the Jeolla and Jeju regions with 129 cases.

However, the creation of protective environments to safeguard these officials was found to be insufficient. According to the "Status of Creating Safe Working Environments in Local Government Civil Complaint Offices" submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Kim's office, as of the end of March, only 63.5% had portable protective equipment, and 71.8% had designated dedicated departments installed.

Assemblyman Kim said, "Recently, we have heard unfortunate news of people making tragic choices due to malicious complaints. It is the government's responsibility to prepare measures to prevent this in advance and to manage so that they are properly enforced," adding, "Many administrative agencies managed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety have civil complaint handling staff who are suffering hardships, so the government needs to conduct a fact-finding survey and establish a systematic system suitable for that."