Legal Actions Such as Complaints and Lawsuits
Dedicated Security Staff to Be Assigned to Administrative Centers
Chuncheon City has decided to apply a zero-tolerance policy toward malicious civil petitioners who engage in behaviors such as slapping and verbal abuse. Along with this, measures to protect public officials will also be strengthened.
According to Yonhap News on the 25th, a recent incident occurred at an administrative welfare center in Chuncheon where a petitioner, Mr. A, verbally abused the responsible public official, caused a disturbance, and ultimately slapped the official.
Investigations revealed that Mr. A committed this act due to dissatisfaction with the handling of his case. He is currently under police investigation for obstruction of official duties. On the 24th, two public officials were injured while restraining citizens at a public hearing in the urban regeneration district and had to visit a hospital.
Malicious petitioners threatening public officials occur repeatedly every year. From 2022 through last year, the number of malicious petition cases reported to Chuncheon City reached 19. In response, Chuncheon City announced it will apply a zero-tolerance policy to eradicate malicious petitions and protect public officials.
Additionally, with support from a dedicated response department, the city plans to create an environment where public officials can work with peace of mind by taking legal actions such as filing complaints and lawsuits at the institutional level. Currently, the city implements policies including installing emergency bells in petition offices, introducing wearable cameras (body cams), providing psychological counseling for petition-handling officials, and offering medical expense support. Furthermore, the city plans to gradually assign dedicated staff responsible for building security to nine administrative welfare centers in towns, townships, and neighborhoods where security guards are not currently deployed.
Meanwhile, over the past three years up to 2023, illegal acts such as verbal abuse, insults, and threats against civil petition officials have occurred at an average of more than 40,000 cases annually. Based on 2023 data, excluding holidays, this amounts to about 151 illegal acts targeting petition officials per day.
On the 23rd, the National Assembly Legislative Research Office revealed this in its recently published report titled “Eradication of Malicious Petitions and Effective Strengthening of Protection for Civil Petition Officials.” Illegal acts against petition officials have been consistently occurring. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, there were 51,883 cases in 2021, 41,559 cases in 2022, and 37,665 cases in 2023.
The majority of illegal acts against petition officials were verbal abuse and insults, accounting for 88% of all illegal acts in 2023. Previously, this proportion was 87% in 2022 and 77% in 2021. Other illegal acts include threats, assault, sexual harassment, and property damage.
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