Supreme Court: "Even if complaint handling is delayed, public officials are not punished for dereliction of duty if they made efforts"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that public officials cannot be punished for dereliction of duty simply because they failed to promptly handle received complaints.

On the 27th, the Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sanghwan) announced that it upheld the lower court's acquittal in the appeal trial of Mr. A, a public official at Boryeong City Hall in Chungnam, who was charged with dereliction of duty.

Mr. A, who worked in the Building Permit Department's Building Notification Team at City Hall, was prosecuted for failing to take corrective action after receiving a complaint in October 2017 that a livestock manure treatment facility was being constructed differently from the original design.

The first trial court ruled a suspended sentence, stating, "Ignoring the fact that the facility was constructed differently from the design drawings and taking no action constitutes an act of neglecting one's duties." However, it reasoned that although failing to take any action was an abandonment of duty, the act did not appear to have been committed with the intent to gain compensation or benefit.

However, the second trial court acquitted Mr. A. The court found that Mr. A showed willingness to handle the matter by requesting confirmation from the architectural office staff responsible for the facility's construction after receiving the complaint. The court stated, "Due to personnel transfers, Mr. A's duties were reassigned, and the time available to handle the matter was limited," and conveyed his position that "he handles over 1,200 written complaints annually and must manage multiple tasks in real time, resulting in a busy situation."

The prosecution appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court also affirmed the ruling, stating, "There is no error in the lower court's application of the law regarding the establishment of dereliction of duty."

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