"It has been a year since the government implemented its comprehensive measures against malicious civil complaints, yet these measures have failed to address the fundamental issues on the ground. As a result, civil servants handling complaints remain exposed to ongoing risks."
The Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters of the National Public Officials Labor Union made this statement while calling for a complete revision of the government's "Measures to Prevent Malicious Complaints and Strengthen Protection for Complaint Officers."
The National Public Officials Labor Union Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters is holding a press conference urging a complete revision of the government's "Measures to Prevent Malicious Complaints and Strengthen Protection for Complaint Officers." Photo by Lee Seryoung
On August 12, the Gyeongnam branch of the Public Officials Union held a press conference at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Press Center and announced the results of its investigation into the implementation status of the government's comprehensive measures against malicious complaints at 136 institutions nationwide.
According to the findings, none of the 16 cities and counties in Gyeongnam affiliated with the union had established a dedicated department to handle malicious complaints.
Instead, existing departments responsible for civil complaints, audits, and legal affairs have been assigned additional duties to respond to malicious complaints, without the allocation of dedicated personnel.
Although most cities and counties have introduced call recording for telephone complaints, the system requires manual activation rather than being set to record automatically when calls are connected.
In some locations, there is no announcement regarding protective measures for officials when calls are connected, and emergency call devices or audio-visual recording equipment have not been distributed.
There are six cities and counties where it is not possible to forcibly terminate a call when a complainant uses abusive language, sexual harassment, or verbal abuse. In four cities and counties, although forced call termination is permitted with departmental approval under relevant enforcement ordinances, this measure has not been implemented.
Furthermore, in seven out of ten township and neighborhood offices (excluding main offices), no security personnel have been assigned.
Kang Sudong, head of the Gyeongnam branch of the National Public Officials Union, is announcing the results of the comprehensive investigation on the implementation status of measures related to malicious civil complaints. Photo by Lee Seryung
Kang Sudong, head of the regional headquarters, expressed concern, stating, "In Geoje, Sancheong, Hapcheon, and Uiryeong, photos and names of civil servants are still displayed on office placement boards in front of government offices. Malicious complainants could take photos of these officials and cause various problems."
He added, "While most cities and counties provide special leave or legal response budgets for civil servants who are victims of malicious complaints, some do not even install posters or banners to raise awareness about the dangers of malicious complaints."
Kang further emphasized the need for dedicated departments and personnel, stating, "When malicious complaints occur, there are many tasks to handle, including investigation, management, legal response, and victim support."
The Gyeongnam branch argued that while the region's response to malicious complaints is above average compared to the national level, some cities and counties fall below the average, necessitating special measures.
They called for the establishment of dedicated departments and assignment of dedicated personnel to handle malicious complaints, installation of closed-circuit (CC) TV and other video information processing devices in all township and neighborhood offices, provision of portable audio and video recording equipment, automatic call recording settings, and deployment of security personnel in complaint offices, major permit departments, and all township and neighborhood offices.
In addition, they urged for related government budget support, a comprehensive survey of all cities and counties in Gyeongnam regarding their response to malicious complaints, and the establishment of legal penalties for failing to implement safety measures for civil servants.
They also announced plans to force improvements by submitting collective bargaining proposals and requesting meetings with agency heads in cities and counties that fail to implement or inadequately implement the government's comprehensive measures.
The headquarters stated, "There has been some progress as a result of the government's measures, but these have largely been formalities. Under the current approach, the system cannot be properly established. The measures must be thoroughly revised to truly protect civil servants from malicious complaints."
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