청 "Pan-Government Report Center, Protective Measures for Security Guards Victimized by Gapjil"

Blue House National Petition Response, "Appropriate Punishment According to Trial Results"... Over 440,000 Citizens Agree to Petition to Eradicate Resident Gapjil

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House has decided to establish a pan-government reporting center to address and eradicate abusive behavior by apartment residents and to implement protective measures for security guards.

On the 8th, the Blue House made this announcement in response to the national petition titled 'Strict Punishment for Security Guard Abuse.' The Blue House stated, "On May 10th, there was an incident where security guard Choi Hee-seok, unable to endure verbal abuse and physical assault from residents, took an extreme step." It added, "The petitioner identified themselves as a resident of the apartment where the deceased worked as a security guard and requested that the injustice against the deceased be rectified and that abusive behavior by residents be eradicated." This petition garnered the support of 446,434 citizens.

Yoon Seong-won, Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the Blue House, said, "The resident who verbally and physically abused the deceased has been detained and indicted, and is awaiting trial. Depending on the investigation and trial results, appropriate punishment will be imposed." Secretary Yoon added, "Going forward, the government will receive reports of abusive behavior against security guards in multi-unit housing through the ‘Abuse Victim Reporting Center.’ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and other relevant authorities will take active measures according to applicable laws."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Secretary Yoon explained, "To improve the working environment of security guards, we will revise the Enforcement Decree of the Apartment Housing Management Act within this year. The revised law will include provisions in apartment management regulations prohibiting verbal abuse and other misconduct against workers such as security guards, and will establish necessary protective measures and reporting procedures when unfair acts occur."

Furthermore, Secretary Yoon pledged, "Starting in July this year, we will launch a campaign to foster a culture of mutual respect within apartments. From September, we will strengthen mandatory education for resident representatives and management office managers by including content on respecting security guards' human rights and measures to respond to abusive behavior. We will also continue efforts to raise awareness among residents through residents' meetings and other forums."

Cho Seong-jae, Secretary for Employment and Labor at the Blue House, stated, "Since June, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has conducted self-assessments of labor management to help multi-unit housing nationwide voluntarily comply with laws and regulations. For multi-unit housing where improvements are not made or workplace harassment is reported, regular inspections will be conducted to address issues."

Secretary Cho added, "By amending the Industrial Safety and Health Act, we will impose obligations on management companies to protect workers who suffer from verbal abuse and other harm from customers, not only those who primarily interact with customers, so that security guards who are victims can be protected." He also said, "Security guards who need counseling will be supported through the Occupational Trauma Specialized Counseling Center of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency or the psychological counseling program of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service."

Secretary Cho said, "Starting from 2021, multi-unit housing with prevalent short-term contracts will be included in labor inspections, and by the second half of this year, a joint task force for ‘Improvement of the Multi-unit Housing Security Guard System’ will be formed by related ministries and agencies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.