[The Editors' Verdict] Murder Without Weapons: Malicious Complaints

The civil servant at Gimpo City Hall who died after suffering from malicious complaints was simply performing the duties assigned to him properly. He was filling potholes in the road. The work was done at night or early morning when vehicle traffic was low to avoid disrupting traffic. Even during these hours, cars still pass by. Inconvenience is inevitable. Bearing this inconvenience is the responsibility of the citizens who are the recipients of administrative services. If there is unbearable discomfort or dissatisfaction, it can be communicated to government offices through various channels such as phone calls, emails, bulletin boards, or the National Complaints Center.

Kyung-ho Lee, Head of Issue & Trend Team

The case in Gimpo was different. Complaints were shared in an online cafe, and someone disclosed the phone number of the responsible civil servant, who was a junior official working on-site. Among the various channels for collecting opinions, the flood of malicious complaints funneled into one place like a funnel. There is a saying that 99% of complaints are resolved just by listening. When you vent your dissatisfaction, complaints, and grievances, your emotions gradually ease. However, doxxing (disclosing personal information) and the flood of complaints targeting a specific person crossed that line. Physical assaults are not uncommon either.

Civil servants who face malicious complaints say their hearts pound whenever the phone rings. The civil servant from Gangdong District Office who was found dead in January 2021 was in his 20s and in his first year of appointment. During the one year he handled complaints related to illegal parking fines at the district office, he managed 6,000 cases, averaging 25 complaints per day. The stress on social welfare civil servants is beyond imagination. Since most complainants are vulnerable groups such as basic livelihood security recipients and the complaints are directly related to life-sustaining issues, malicious complaints are frequent. Correctional officers dealing with inmates, special education teachers who have to watch over children carrying voice recorders in their bags, and emergency services like 119 and 112 who have to worry about verbal abuse, false reports, and administrative waste also face indescribable hardships.

Even now, some still see civil servants as the powerful and their masters, but the majority are public servants. Their status has greatly declined. Perceptions must change. They are not “entities paid with the taxes I pay” but “entities that provide the administrative services I need.” Perhaps we have forgotten what is obvious. The public sector also has problems. It is not that the younger generation lacks patience or the ability to handle complaints. Even if the shortage of personnel and inadequate treatment are resolved, there is no trust that superiors, organizations, or the state will protect me when I perform my duties honestly and actively deal with malicious complaints.

The bad customs of the public sector pass down malicious complaints to lower-ranking officials. Many civil servants who have taken extreme measures suffered from workplace stress. When official election campaigns begin on the 28th, complaints related to election canvassing will surge. Most complaints are about noise from election campaigns, inconvenience caused by election banners, reports of election campaign vehicles violating traffic laws, and inconvenience caused by election posters. Those who have experienced elections shudder at this. If these burdens are again passed down to lower-ranking officials, unfortunate incidents are bound to recur.

On the 26th, the government announced the “Measures to Create Conditions for Concentrated Work for Civil Servants,” which includes reducing the promotion period and raising the overtime limit. Regarding malicious complaints, a comprehensive plan will be released in April. This plan is hardware-oriented. The public sector must change, and software aspects such as changing the perception of complainants must also change. No matter how much the population decreases, administrative demand will inevitably increase exponentially. The existence of civil servants becomes more important, but public sentiment toward them is extremely harsh. Let us start by remembering that there is a “person” on the other end of the phone when filing a complaint.

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