"Foreign Countries Restrict Contact with Malicious Complainants"… Ministry of the Interior and Safety Prepares Government-wide Measures

Announcement of 'Survey on the Civil Complaint Environment in Major Countries'
Definition and Types of 'Malicious Complaints' Specified in Major Overseas Countries

Countries overseas, including the United Kingdom, have defined types of malicious complaints and are regulating behaviors such as 'contact restrictions' when these escalate to obstructing work. The government plans to refer to these cases to prepare a comprehensive government-wide countermeasure against malicious complaints.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 30th that, as a result of conducting a research project titled 'Survey on the Status of Complaint Environments and Legal System Improvement Measures in Major Countries,' most of the surveyed countries, including the United States, had specified types of malicious complaints and operated related manuals and policies for effective response.

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The Korea Institute of Public Administration surveyed seven countries: the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom (England and Scotland), Singapore, France, Australia, and New Zealand. It found that most countries defined malicious complaints based on criteria such as violence, unfairness, and irrationality. They also included criminal acts such as violence and work obstruction behaviors like unreasonable demands as types of malicious complaints.

In Japan, malicious complaints are defined as 'customer harassment' and classified into nine types, including time-consuming, repetitive, demands outside the workplace, and sexual harassment types. The United States defines 'violence by customers' and categorizes it into face-to-face and online harassment, physical violence, and threats. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety viewed that establishing the concept of malicious complaints and classifying their types is necessary to prevent malicious complaints and prepare effective response measures.

Furthermore, all surveyed countries restricted work obstruction acts by malicious complainants and punished criminal acts. Japan and the United States operate manuals for responding to malicious complaints, while England, Australia, and New Zealand limit the number of contacts or visits by malicious complainants to restrict work obstruction. This involves designating contact methods or responsible personnel or restricting contact through all channels.

Notably, France is promoting legislation to establish legal grounds for institutional prosecution against perpetrators of assault. The United States and Singapore operate criminal punishment regulations targeting public officials.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to prepare and announce a government-wide countermeasure to prevent malicious complaints and protect complaint-handling public officials, referring to the results of this research project. Dr. Kim Se-jin of the Korea Institute of Public Administration, who conducted the research, suggested, "To prepare measures that are perceptible on the ground, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of communication methods such as online and telephone. Even for malicious complaints, it is impossible to completely refuse to provide complaint services, so it is worth considering measures such as restricting contact methods to written or email communication, designating face-to-face meeting locations, and assigning specific personnel."