Government Tells Civil Servants to Wear Body Cams and Shoulder Malicious Complaints [Reporter’s Notebook]

"Civil servants handling complaints receive verbal abuse no less than teachers do."

Administrative agency civil servants who handle complaints are feeling a sense of camaraderie yet frustration as they watch the memorial rally for Seoicho teachers. Civil servants at various government offices nationwide suffer from malicious complaints all year round, just like teachers. Kang Yunsook, head of the Civil Service Customer Service Office at Donghwaseong Tax Office in Gyeonggi Province, lost consciousness while dealing with a shouting complainant on July 24 and passed away on the 16th of last month. This has sparked strong criticism that while the government actively responds to teacher deaths, it remains indifferent even when civil servants die in the line of duty.

The government does not completely neglect the issue of malicious complaints. In April, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety implemented a revised Enforcement Decree of the Civil Complaints Handling Act, allowing civil servants to wear portable video and audio recording devices, or 'body cams,' on their person to respond to malicious complainants. Since then, local governments have distributed body cams to community centers and other offices. However, civil servants respond cynically. According to the decree, body cams must be operated "as an unavoidable measure when assault is likely to occur or has occurred." A civil servant in charge of complaints in Jeonbuk Province said, "Do malicious complaints occur at predictable moments warranting body cams?" and added, "Wearing a body cam in front of an irrational complainant could lead to even worse harm."

Civil servants handling complaints agree that if they record malicious complainants with body cams and file lawsuits, their organizations will criticize them for "carelessly causing trouble for the organization." They say this cold attitude is something they want to avoid even more than the abusive behavior of malicious complainants. A frontline civil servant in Seoul said, "When complaint issues arise, the government organization usually passes the problem down to lower-level staff and avoids responsibility. Even if you take out a body cam, record, and report to superiors, nothing changes," with a bitter smile.

Frontline civil servants demand practical measures instead of desk-bound administration. During the interview, civil servants handling complaints suggested that if body cams are to be worn, they should be worn at all times, and habitual malicious complainants with severe abusive behavior should be banned from entering the relevant government offices for a certain period. Above all, they want the Civil Service Act to stipulate that supervisors and agency heads take responsibility for protecting frontline civil servants at complaint counters. Because of the nature of civil service, explicit regulations are necessary to prompt action. One civil servant lamented, "Please don't just give us a body cam to wear and then leave us to handle malicious complainants on our own."

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