Paju City to Strengthen Response to Malicious Complaints
Measures Include Removal and Access Restrictions for Petitioners Who Engage in Verbal Abuse or Physical Assault
Paju City in Gyeonggi Province is set to implement strong measures to protect public officials from malicious complaints, including verbal abuse and physical assault by civil petitioners.
According to Paju City on May 16, the city held training on civil complaint response and customer service for senior officials at the team leader level and civil service department staff on May 13. At the same time, the city is officially launching the "Measures to Protect Civil Petition Officers and Strengthen Response," which reorganizes its existing response system for unusual complaints.
The purpose of these measures is to actively protect civil complaint officers who are exposed to unexpected dangers such as verbal abuse and physical assault by petitioners, and to minimize inconvenience to well-intentioned petitioners, thereby creating a safe environment in the civil petition office.
With the implementation of these measures, civil complaint departments in Paju City will now be able to: record all civil complaint phone calls; end calls or meetings that last more than 20 minutes; immediately terminate complaints involving abusive language, threats, or sexual harassment; and require the departure and temporarily restrict access of any petitioner who engages in verbal abuse, physical assault, or possesses dangerous items such as weapons.
Additionally, to help relieve stress among public officials caused by repeated malicious complaints, the city plans to provide special training on handling unusual complaints, as well as operate "healing concerts" for psychological recovery.
Inside the civil petition office, the city will display signs promoting the "Mutual Respect Campaign" and messages requesting the protection of public officials, as part of ongoing efforts to improve public awareness among petitioners.
Since last year, following an incident in which a public official in Paju was attacked with a blunt weapon, the city has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward obstruction of official duties and established a "Unusual Complaint Response Plan." The city also provides psychological counseling, medical expense support, and legal consultation for affected officials.
Triggered by the incident involving an attack on a Paju City official with a blunt weapon, Paju City has established a principle of responding strictly at the city level, rather than leaving it to individual victims, to any act that threatens the human rights and safety of public officials. The city has formulated the "Paju City Unusual Complaint Response Plan" and has actively responded to malicious complaints.
Paju City has assigned specific support tasks to each department for affected public officials and provides support measures such as psychological counseling, medical expenses, and legal consultation. The city also supports rest periods and training for prevention and recovery, and, when necessary, offers legal support including institutional-level complaints or lawsuits.
In particular, all 21 civil petition offices in Paju City participate twice a year in joint simulation training with the police. During these exercises, police officers respond promptly to emergencies by demonstrating the use of emergency bells and subduing aggressive petitioners, which has been recognized as greatly enhancing the practical response capabilities of civil petition offices in emergency situations.
Kim Kyoungil, Mayor of Paju City, stated, "We will respond firmly at the city level, with a zero-tolerance policy, to any illegal acts by malicious petitioners such as verbal abuse, physical assault, or obstruction of official duties without just cause," adding, "We will also actively work to establish a proper civil petition culture in which petitioners and public officials respect each other."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
