Public Official Who Died After Harassment by Malicious Complaints Mourned by Various Sectors... Support Messages for Architecture Officer Also Received

Gimpo City to Set Up Memorial Space Until the 8th... Communication with Bereaved Families on Disaster Recognition
Mayor Kim Byung-su: "Everyone is in Mourning... Will Create Strong Measures to Prevent Recurrence"
Gimpo City and Public Officials' Union Demand Fundamental Solutions to Malicious Complaints
Praise Corner Highlights Commendation for Architecture Department
"Very Grateful but Upset for Not Receiving Bacchus," a Comment Left

Gimpo City Hall is mourning a public official who died after suffering from malicious complaints at the office building.
[Photo by Gimpo City Hall]

Since a Gimpo city official in charge of pothole repairs on Hangang-ro in Gimpo passed away on the 5th, waves of mourning for the deceased have continued. There is also a growing movement to punish the malicious complaints that led the deceased to take such an extreme step. On the 6th, Kim Byung-su, Mayor of Gimpo, stated, "An unfortunate incident that should never have happened occurred in our city of Gimpo," adding, "The deceased, who passed away tragically at a young age, was a member of our family who worked hard for Gimpo and its citizens. Until just last week, we worked together in the same space, and all Gimpo city officials are now engulfed in shock and sorrow over the senseless death of our family member." Mayor Kim continued, "The city will immediately prepare a space to commemorate the deceased and engage in dialogue with the bereaved family to pay proper respects. Gimpo city officials will also express their condolences by wearing black ribbons and black attire. Furthermore, to prevent such incidents from happening again, we will take legal action against illegal and malicious attacks and establish strong measures to prevent recurrence."

The city plans to first set up a memorial space in front of the main city hall building where citizens can pay their respects from the 6th to the 8th, keeping the space open for three days. In addition, the city will promptly review ways to recognize the incident as a work-related injury and actively engage in consolation and communication with the bereaved family. Together with the bereaved family and the public officials' labor union, the city plans to conduct a thorough investigation and file a police complaint to pursue strong legal action. The city will also reinforce the public officials' complaint response manual, prepare comprehensive countermeasures, and propose recommendations to the central government. The psychological counseling program for trauma treatment currently provided to complaint-handling officials will be further strengthened.

Image created by Gimpo City Hall to commemorate the deceased public official

The Gimpo City Public Officials Labor Union issued a statement related to this incident, announcing that the union will take measures to prevent recurrence and protect the human rights of public officials. On the 6th, the Federation of Korean Government Employees' Unions (FKGEU) also released a statement saying, "Due to countless malicious complainants who engaged in indiscriminate doxxing and witch-hunt style attacks, even public officials who worked with the deceased have submitted their resignations," adding, "It has been less than a year since the deaths of an elementary school teacher and a tax office complaint team leader caused by malicious complaints last July. Has the government's countermeasure against malicious complaints really changed?" The FKGEU continued, "Every time malicious complaints occur, we have strongly demanded immediate improvement of the rigid victim protection system that leaves individual public official workers to bear the burden alone. However, not only has there been no comprehensive investigation of malicious complaints, but the long-standing demands for improvements in complaint handling systems and related laws have been repeatedly postponed. The government has failed in its duties as an employer by neither defining or setting criteria for malicious complaints nor properly conducting surveys or establishing protection plans for complaint-handling officials."

The FKGEU stated, "We do not need after-the-fact, ineffective countermeasures against malicious complaints. The government must immediately prepare measures for public official workers suffering from malicious complaints," and urged, "Instead of formalistic institutional evaluations and complaint surveys, please conduct direct on-site inspections to understand the difficulties faced by complaint-handling public official workers."

On Gimpo City's social media and the free bulletin board on its website, dozens of messages praying for the deceased's repose have been posted. Most expressed sentiments such as "It's tragic and infuriating," "They must be severely punished," and "Do not accept complaints that are not even real complaints." One netizen said, "How wonderful it would have been if protection had been provided while the person was alive," adding, "To prevent such incidents from happening again, complaints that are not really complaints should not be handled. A system that ignores intentionally repeated complaints aimed at tormenting a person to death must be established to save lives."

The Korean Government Employees' Labor Union Federation (Gongnochong) held a press conference on November 6, 2023, near the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, urging measures to address malicious civil complaints against public officials.
[Photo by Gongnochong]

On the "Let's Praise" bulletin board of Gimpo City Hall, new posts praising a public official in charge of construction have also appeared. One citizen mentioned a certain officer in the Construction Department of the township office, saying, "He kindly and sincerely provided consultation as if it were for a family member, smiling warmly, and quickly resolved construction-related complaints upon revisits. My wife was so pleased that I wanted to widely share this message." The citizen added, "I felt sorry for the complainants' difficulties and bought a box of Bacchus energy drinks to give as a small gift, but he refused to accept it, which was a bit disappointing. It would be a better world if the law were changed to allow small gifts to complainants." Another citizen also mentioned a city hall construction department officer, saying, "He kindly and sincerely provided consultation as if it were for a family member, smiling warmly, and quickly resolved construction-related complaints upon revisits. I wanted to widely share this message."