93% of Citizens Say Protection of Public Officials from Abusive Complaints Is Necessary

98.9% Say "Legal Action Such as Complaints and Prosecutions Is Necessary"

It has been confirmed that 9 out of 10 citizens recognize the need to protect civil service workers from abusive language and other misconduct by complainants. Most citizens responded that legal measures are necessary as a response to illegal malicious complaints.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 25th that a survey conducted from the 8th to the 15th among 2,361 citizens through the online public communication platform 'Sotong24' revealed these findings regarding the protection measures for civil service workers. According to the survey results, 93.2% of citizens agreed on the necessity of protecting civil service workers from abusive language and physical assault by complainants, showing broad support for the protection of complaint-handling officials.

The most frequently cited cause of illegal acts such as abusive language or physical assault by complainants was 'insufficient punishment,' accounting for 17.4%. This was followed by 'lack of respect for civil service workers' at 14.1%, 'illegal or unreasonable demands' at 12.8%, and 'lack of awareness of criminal behavior' at 11.8%. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety analyzed that preventing malicious complaints requires establishing a culture of mutual respect in complaint handling as well as appropriate punishment corresponding to illegal acts.

Regarding responses to illegal acts, 98.9% of survey participants believed that 'legal actions such as complaints and accusations' are necessary. Many respondents (81.4%) also agreed that obstructive behaviors such as insulting phone calls or repeated complaints without justifiable reasons should be restricted.

As for protection measures for civil service workers, more than half (50.4%) responded that strengthening protective measures such as punishing malicious complainants, blocking and restricting repeated calls, and deploying safety equipment and personnel is important. Additionally, 25.7% emphasized the importance of sufficient staffing and workload distribution in complaint departments. One-third of respondents (33.3%) responded negatively regarding the efforts of agency heads to resolve issues arising during the complaint handling process.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to announce a comprehensive plan early next month, including strengthening responses to malicious complaints and improving the treatment of civil service workers, by operating an intergovernmental task force involving related agencies such as the Ministry of Personnel Management and the National Police Agency.

On the same day, Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety visited the comprehensive complaint office in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, to check the current status of protection for frontline civil service workers and to listen to their difficulties. Dongdaemun-gu is an institution that implements mandatory measures to protect complaint handlers, such as installing CCTV, emergency bells, and safety partitions at complaint counters.

Minister Lee inspected the status of portable audio-video recording devices and the deployment of safety personnel on site. He also reviewed institutional measures, including whether legal support is being properly provided in response to abusive language and physical assault incidents by complainants that occurred last month in Dongdaemun-gu.

Minister Lee said, "This was an opportunity to confirm the urgent voices from the field calling for the prevention of malicious complaints such as abusive language and physical assault and for strengthening the protection of civil service workers. We will make intergovernmental efforts to create a safe complaint environment and a proper complaint culture so that civil service workers can focus on their duties and provide good services to the public."