Verbal Abuse and Assault Not Tolerated at Dobong-gu Office and Community Centers

Dobong-gu Establishes Employee Protection Measures from Malicious Complaints Prevention to Relief
Security Guards Assigned to 4 High-Complaint Neighborhoods to Maintain Order and Provide Protection
Employee Photos Removed from Placement Maps, Portable Protective Equipment and Wearable Cameras Distributed

Dobong-gu (District Mayor Oh Eon-seok) has taken steps to protect its employees from malicious complainants.

First, starting this month, the district has prioritized the deployment of one security guard each to four neighborhoods with a high frequency of complaints to protect both the employees at the community service centers and the visiting complainants.

The security guards were selected based on professional qualifications, including completion of security training, no disqualifications under Article 10 of the Security Services Act, and no history of sexual or other criminal offenses.

Under normal circumstances, the security guards are responsible for guiding visitors at the complaint counters and maintaining order. In emergencies, they protect both visiting complainants and public officials. Their working hours coincide with the community service centers’ operating hours, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, during which they wear uniforms and remain on site.

A district official stated, “The presence of uniformed security guards alone has a significant effect in preventing intentional malicious complaints,” adding, “After implementing this in four neighborhoods first, we will consider expanding it to all neighborhoods based on satisfaction surveys.”

This month, joint training exercises with the police station will be conducted to strengthen response capabilities against malicious complaints.

At the district office, health centers, and district council, Dobong-gu employs the largest number of 11 civil petition police officers among Seoul’s 25 autonomous districts. This year, to protect employees and visiting complainants, the district has purchased and equipped them with batons and cut-resistant gloves to prepare for any emergencies.

In addition to deploying security guards, the district is implementing other measures to protect employees from malicious complainants.

On the 2nd of this month, the district completely revised the employee deployment charts by removing employee photos included in the charts to prevent incidents such as terrorism, assault, and stalking in advance.

Furthermore, following last year’s distribution of two wearable cameras per neighborhood?portable necklace-type protective devices for complaint-handling officials?this year, 30 wearable cameras and 450 recording devices embedded in employee ID cases were distributed to complaint departments.

The wearable cameras and recording devices are used to secure evidence videos in cases of verbal abuse or assault during complaint handling. Recording and filming are notified in advance, and videos are recorded only to the minimum necessary extent.

For employees who suffer physical or mental harm, the district provides up to 200,000 KRW per person to cover hospital treatment and medication costs.

Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “A safe complaint office environment leads to satisfactory administrative services,” and added, “We will continue to devise ways to protect our employees from excessive complaints such as verbal abuse and assault.”