Why Did Gwangjin-gu Roll Up Its Sleeves to Resolve Malicious Complaints?

Gwangjin-gu Holds Countermeasure Meeting on 27th Led by Deputy Mayor Baek Ilheon to Resolve Malicious Complaints at Community Service Centers
Firm Response to Overstepping Complainants... Joint Response Team Fully Activated to Protect Frontline Community Center Staff
Discussion on Introducing Responsible Dong Chief System and Tailored Measures Against Malicious Complaints... Staff Report Harm from Verbal Abuse, Insults, Unreasonable Demands Including Cash Support, and Threats

Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) held a countermeasure meeting on the 27th, chaired by Deputy Mayor Baek Il-heon, to resolve malicious civil complaints at the community service centers.

The aim is to protect frontline community service center employees, create a safe working environment, and provide high-quality administrative services to residents.

According to the district, there are currently nine malicious complainants who repeatedly make unreasonable demands, insults, disturbances, and complaints for financial gain. Since the 8th term of the elected government, these individuals have filed a total of 4,515 complaints, wasting unnecessary administrative resources and causing severe mental and physical fatigue among related staff. In fact, one person alone has filed over 3,000 complaints, depriving other residents of their right to receive quality administrative services.

At the meeting, more than 30 people, including six department heads such as the Audit Officer, 15 community center chiefs, and related department staff, gathered to brainstorm. They discussed countermeasures for 12 unresolved malicious complaint cases at community service centers, including obsessive garbage storage, cash demands, verbal abuse and insults, and excessive welfare service requests.

First, the district prepared a complaint response manual to enable more systematic handling. Specific response guidelines were detailed according to types such as verbal abuse, violence, and sexual harassment.

For malicious complaints, a ‘Responsible Community Chief System’ was introduced, where the community chief actively intervenes from the early stages. Experienced and seasoned community chiefs directly respond, significantly reducing the workload of frontline staff.

Additionally, the district plans to hold regular malicious complaint countermeasure meetings to share cases and solutions, and has officially launched an on-site response support team composed of about five employees from the Audit Office, General Affairs Division, and Autonomous Administration Division. This team aims to prevent malicious complaints from gaining a foothold at the community service centers, which are the closest administrative contact points with residents.

One community chief who participated in the meeting said, “To prepare for unexpected outbursts from complainants, it is important to quickly understand their tendencies and appropriately apply both firm and conciliatory measures. Cooperation with related institutions such as the police station is also crucial, and in the long term, the deployment of security guards should be considered.”

Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, stated, “We will actively respond to malicious complainants who file complaints without justifiable reasons and make unreasonable demands. We will continue to do our best to create a working environment where employees can work with peace of mind and focus on their duties, so that residents can enjoy high-quality administrative services.”

Meanwhile, the district is working to improve the complaint response environment and protect employees through measures such as operating a dedicated malicious complaint task force (TF) team, establishing a legal response support system, installing complaint sandbags, and expanding wearable recording devices (wearable cams).