From the 9th, Employee Names on Website to Be Withheld, Enhanced Measures Against Malicious Complaints
Ordinance Enacted to Protect Civil Service Staff, Simulation Training for Handling Unusual Complaints
Pohang City has recently switched the names of staff members in charge of tasks on its official website to private in order to protect employees from malicious complainants.
Previously, Pohang City had fully disclosed the names of staff members along with their duties and positions on the website for the convenience of citizens. However, after internal discussions, the city decided to make the names of responsible staff members private.
Following a recent incident in which a public official in Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province, suffered indiscriminate protest complaints after their personal information was exposed and subsequently passed away after expressing distress, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced a comprehensive pan-government plan on the 2nd to prevent malicious complaints and strengthen the protection of civil service workers.
According to the plan, if a complainant verbally abuses a public official over the phone, the official can issue a first warning and then end the call. Additionally, public officials' names can be kept private on administrative agency websites.
In line with these measures, cities and counties in the North Gyeongsang Province region, such as Gyeongsan City, Seongju County, and Chilgok County, have also switched the names of staff members on their websites to private.
Pohang City also made staff names private on its website starting from the 9th. However, to avoid inconvenience for citizens, departments, duties, and phone numbers remain publicly available as before, excluding only the names.
The city expects that this measure will help prevent the indiscriminate exposure of public officials' personal information and contribute to the protection of their rights and interests.
In 2022, Pohang City enacted the "Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Civil Service Workers in Charge of Civil Complaints, etc." to protect public officials from malicious complaints, thereby expanding safety facilities to prevent and support the relief and healing of physical and psychological harm to public officials.
Additionally, the city has been conducting joint simulation training with the police to respond to unusual complaints every six months and providing customized training for civil service workers on how to handle unusual (malicious) complaints.
A city official stated, "In order to provide high-quality administrative services to citizens, it is most important to ensure a safe working environment for public officials," and added, "While taking the lead in protecting public officials, we will continue to strengthen monitoring to ensure there is no inconvenience in providing administrative services to citizens."
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