"Malicious Civil Complaint Measures Out of Touch with Reality"... Gyeongbuk Public Officials Union Urges Government to Supplement Policies

"Establishing Dedicated Departments and Mandating Security Staff Deployment
Are Essential for Effective Measures"

The Gyeongbuk Regional Headquarters of the National Public Officials Labor Union (headed by Ryu Dongyeol) held a press conference in front of the main building of Goryeong County Office on the morning of August 13, urging the government to supplement its comprehensive measures against malicious civil complaints.

The National Public Officials Labor Union Gyeongbuk Regional Headquarters is holding a press conference in front of the main building of Goryeong County Office, urging the government to supplement its comprehensive measures against malicious civil complaints.

Last year, following an incident in which a public official in his 30s in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, took his own life due to stress from a road repair civil complaint, the government established the "Comprehensive Measures for Preventing Malicious Civil Complaints and Strengthening the Protection of Civil Complaint Officials." The measures included preparing response plans by type of malicious complaint, establishing blocking mechanisms for each complaint submission channel, and providing counseling for affected officials.

However, one year later, there are still criticisms on the ground that the measures lack effectiveness. According to a survey conducted by the National Public Officials Labor Union in June this year targeting 136 institutions, it was rare for organizations to establish dedicated departments for malicious complaints, with most cases seeing existing departments take on the additional workload. More than half of the institutions had no dedicated personnel (58% of local governments and 71% of education offices).

The deployment of security staff, such as security guards, was also found to be uneven. While most main offices had security staff assigned (86%), only 31% of administrative welfare centers in towns and townships had such personnel.

In relation to this, participants at the press conference pointed out, "Without the establishment of dedicated departments and the deployment of security staff, the government's measures will remain nothing more than empty talk."

Ryu Dongyeol, the head of the regional headquarters, explained, "Frontline public officials are simultaneously handling disaster response tasks such as large-scale wildfires, heat waves, and heavy rains, as well as duties related to restoring people's livelihoods, resulting in extremely high work intensity." He added, "Due to the government's expansion of parental leave and flexible work policies, there are many employees on leave, making the situation on the ground even more difficult." He emphasized, "The fundamental solution is to significantly increase staffing levels to thoroughly monitor the frontlines of public service and reduce the occurrence of civil complaints themselves."

The union officially demanded that the government establish dedicated departments, mandate the deployment of security staff, and expand personnel. They also called for the creation of an effective, field-oriented response system to malicious civil complaints.