'No More Deaths of Overburdened Public Officials'... Gimpo City Implements Dual Approach of Punishment and Healing

Kim Byung-su, Mayor of Gimpo City, visited Gimpo Police Station at 11 a.m. on the 13th to personally submit an investigation request.
[Photo by Gimpo City]

In relation to the death of a public official who suffered from malicious complaints, Gimpo City is preparing multifaceted measures to prevent recurrence. While providing psychological support to employees shocked by the colleague's death, the city is also revising the complaint response manual. First, the city formed an emergency countermeasure committee regarding the official's death and began reviewing strong legal actions. Currently, the city is collecting additional materials and preparing a request for investigation, which was submitted to the police on the 13th. A petition will also be filed with the National Human Rights Commission.

Since late January, the city experienced a surge in complaints about pothole repairs and vehicle damage. In a serious situation with numerous pothole reports, the city decided to proceed with construction to prevent further accidents. However, from the start of construction on February 29 until 00:16 the next day, several related posts were made on a local community platform. During this process, a specific netizen posted a large amount of the deceased’s personal information and repeatedly made complaint calls and posts, effectively encouraging collective complaints through so-called ‘pinpointing.’ On the same day, the duty office was overwhelmed with complaint calls, causing work paralysis until early the next morning. It was confirmed that many of these calls included not only simple inquiries but also abusive and threatening remarks. The city plans to supplement and submit investigation materials as additional evidence is secured.

Exterior view of the Civil Service Office in Gimpo City [Photo by Gimpo City]

The city is making every effort to recognize the deceased’s death as a service-related incident and provide administrative support that can be linked to the bereaved family, while also carefully conducting psychological support for the shocked employees. First, to stabilize colleagues closely related to the deceased early, the city plans to manage post-traumatic stress swiftly and systematically. From the 13th to the 15th, the Gimpo City Health Project Division and the Mental Health Welfare Center will conduct education for psychological stabilization after trauma, group counseling by groups, and individual counseling. Depending on the results, if continuous counseling is deemed necessary, support will be provided in connection with professional counseling institutions under the supervision of the General Affairs Division. Education for all Gimpo City Hall employees affected by the shock is also planned thereafter.

Initially, about four sessions of education on "Effective Coping Methods for Post-Traumatic Stress" will be conducted in March, focusing on complaint response employees at grade 7 and below. Subsequently, in June, education aimed at respecting life and preventing extreme choices will be provided to all employees. After the June education, an online organizational stress diagnosis will be conducted for all employees. Individuals can check their personal results, including stress levels, job stress factors, and depression tests, and apply for personal counseling. Based on these test results, the city plans to strengthen future employee psychological support programs.

Post-Traumatic Stress Management Training Hosted by Gimpo City on the 13th [Photo by Gimpo City]

Effective countermeasures against malicious complaints will also be established. First, the city will revise and distribute a work manual that standardizes response methods by situation and departmental work division. Simulation training will also be conducted to respond to malicious complaints or illegal acts and other special complaints. Additionally, institutional improvements are needed, including protection measures for complaint-handling public officials, a performance evaluation system that assesses the reduction rate of statutory processing periods despite legal deadlines, and handling methods for similar, frequent, multiple complaints, chain complaints, and retaliatory complaints. The city will actively review improvements that can be made at the local government level and plans to deliver proposals for systems that can be established at the central government level to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s government-wide task force for protecting complaint-handling public officials.

Kim Byung-su, Mayor of Gimpo City, said, "We will do everything possible to heal the psychological shock and devastation felt by the families of public officials and to ensure that similar incidents never happen again." He added, "We will make every effort to establish strong legal and institutional procedures to protect all of us from unfair criticism and attacks," and said, "No precious life should be lost due to some malicious complaints. It is deeply painful, but please join us from the process to the outcome. We will listen to everyone for improvements."

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