Seoul City Strengthens Protection and Support for Civil Complaint Officers... Supports Treatment and Legal Fees for Affected Employees

Due to the increase in illegal and unfair acts against civil complaint officers, stronger protection and support measures are being prepared
Improving working conditions through pilot provision of necklace-type cameras and recorders, and additional installation of CCTV and emergency bells

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City is strengthening protection and support for civil service officers handling civil complaints as illegal and unfair acts such as verbal abuse, assault, sexual harassment, baseless repeated complaints, and stalking by complainants are increasing.

Starting next year, wearable cameras (wearable cams) and badge case recorders will be pilot-provided to employees at the Open Civil Complaints Office on the first floor of City Hall to secure evidence in case of damage. CCTV will be installed in civil complaint consultation rooms, and emergency bells linked to police stations will be expanded in city-run facilities with many on-site complaints to protect employees from sudden actions by complainants. Monthly regular business trip psychological counseling will be conducted for employees of city-run facilities, with additional sessions available upon request, and treatment costs and litigation expenses of up to 1 million KRW annually will be supported for affected employees.

On the 17th, Seoul City announced the promulgation of the "Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Civil Complaint Handling Public Officials" and stated that stronger protection and support measures will be implemented for civil complaint officers suffering from verbal abuse and assault by complainants. According to Seoul City, illegal and unfair acts such as verbal abuse, assault, sexual harassment, stalking, and baseless repeated complaints by complainants are increasing every year, and cases of mental and physical harm to civil complaint officers are ongoing.

First, a safe working environment will be created so that civil complaint officers can perform their duties with peace of mind. Devices to protect civil complaint officers, such as cameras and recorders, will be distributed, and a voice guide to indicate 'end of response' during calls lasting more than 30 minutes will be introduced in the first half of next year. Additionally, to strengthen personal and organizational response capabilities to unusual complaints that may occur on-site, response manuals will be detailed and related training will be conducted. To enhance the city's response capabilities to unusual complaints, CCTV will be installed in civil complaint consultation rooms, and emergency bells linked to police stations will be expanded.

Active treatment and recovery support will be provided to employees who have actually suffered damage. Business trip psychological counseling will be newly established for employees working at facilities far from the main office, and treatment and litigation costs will also be supported. Seoul City currently operates psychological counseling and stabilization programs for employees at the main office, but employees working at facilities distant from the main office have faced difficulties in accessing these services. To improve this, monthly regular and on-demand business trip psychological counseling will be implemented for employees at each facility.

Meanwhile, along with these protection and support measures, Seoul City plans to thoroughly manage personnel by adjusting duties such as team reassignment or department transfer for public officials harmed by complainants, and by not assigning malicious or repeated complaint tasks to new public officials who require work adaptation and consideration.

Jung Sang-hoon, Director of the Administrative Bureau, said, “This measure focuses on strengthening continuous and effective protection and support for civil complaint officers by solidifying existing systems and adding new ones. Seoul City will be a safe haven for employees, protecting them so that they can faithfully fulfill their fundamental duties of courteous complaint handling and providing better administrative services.”

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