Gap Tissue and Trash Can... Why Does the District Office Need a 'Room of One's Own'?

Seocho-gu Civil Service Office's 'Adamsso' Open in July
Increase in Abusive and Violent Malicious Complaints Leads to Protective Measures
Job Security Is a Thing of the Past for Civil Servants Exposed to Risks

Verbal abuse and other illegal acts by malicious complainants against public officials have been increasing every year. The interior view of the "Room for One" created by Seocho-gu inside the OK Civil Complaints Center. (Photo by Minjin Kim enter@)

"We cry, calm our anger, and soothe our emotions. Only then can our hearts settle, and we can face other complainants with a bright face."

At the OK Civil Service Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, there is a "special room" along the corridor leading to the Civil Service Passport Department. It is called the "Room for Oneself, Adamso (我談所)." The room, about 6.6㎡ (2 pyeong) in size, is decorated with a calm fabric carpet, a single sofa, a footrest stool, small potted plants, and framed pictures. There is also an electric kettle and various kinds of tea, perhaps inviting visitors to relax with a cup of tea.

However, the first things that catch the eye upon entering are the box of tissues and the trash can. Why are there so many occasions to shed tears or blow noses? Is it because dealing with people is always like that? Even the civil servant life, once envied as a "steel rice bowl," turns out to be no easy task when actually experienced.

Seocho-gu created this room when it remodeled and reopened the OK Civil Service Center last month. The purpose is to take care of the mental health of civil servants handling complaints. When employees find it difficult to control their emotions, they come here to drink tea, listen to soothing music, and heal the stress from complaint-related work. After all, there is no quiet place to cry alone in the office.

Several other autonomous districts have also enacted ordinances to protect and support civil servants handling complaints. They have installed closed-circuit television (CCTV), emergency bells, partitions, and provided separate rest areas for employees. Voice guidance for protective measures for complaint handlers, recorded phone lines, training for frontline staff, healing workshops for complaint-handling civil servants, psychological counseling programs, and treatment expense support have already been introduced and implemented in most places. The measures are gradually being strengthened.

A civil servant from Seongbuk-gu said, "There are many repetitive and chronic complaints related to redevelopment, property rights issues, conflicts among apartment residents, and malicious complaints from welfare benefit recipients such as basic livelihood security recipients." As a result, many employees in departments related to housing and residential maintenance, such as the Housing Maintenance Division, as well as welfare-related departments, express difficulties in addition to those working directly with complainants at comprehensive civil service centers or community service centers.

Yongsan-gu employees are conducting a simulation training to prepare for malicious complainants. (Photo by Yongsan-gu)

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, illegal acts by complainants such as verbal abuse, violence, and property damage increased by 50.5% from 34,484 cases in 2018 to 51,883 cases in 2021, showing a rising trend. In June last year, at the Sinwol-dong Community Service Center in Yangcheon-gu, a drunken complainant threatened civil servants with a metal hammer. In early 2021, a tragic incident occurred where a civil servant in his 30s, who was conducting parking enforcement duties at Gangdong-gu Office, jumped into the Han River. Recently, the head of the complaint team at Donghwaseong Tax Office in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, collapsed while dealing with a complainant and has been unconscious for ten days.

Each district office has established countermeasures, such as conducting joint drills with the police to prepare for emergencies like verbal abuse or assault by complainants. Yongsan-gu purchased 46 recording devices in June and July that can be attached to the back of civil servant ID cards and distributed them on a trial basis to civil servants at civil service centers and community service centers.

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