"Stopping Violent Complainants"... Yongsan-gu Deploys 'Safe Security Guards' at Dong Community Centers

Four Locations Including Cheongpa-dong, Hangangno-dong, Ichon 1-dong, and Hannam-dong

Yongsan-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Park Hee-young) announced on the 18th that from the 17th, safety security officers have been deployed to four community service centers and pilot operations have begun.

An Anshim Security Officer working at Cheongpa-dong Community Service Center. Provided by Yongsan-gu.

This is one of the protective measures for public officials in response to the recent increase in illegal acts by civil petitioners, such as verbal abuse, assault, and sexual harassment against public officials. Based on population and the number of civil petitions processed, the district selected four community service centers with frequent resident visits?Cheongpa-dong, Hangangno-dong, Ichon 1-dong, and Hannam-dong?as pilot locations. One safety security officer is assigned per location.

Safety security officers were selected based on completion of security training or possession of martial arts certification to ensure professional performance. Under normal circumstances, they handle visitor guidance and maintain order, and in cases of malicious civil petitions, they perform duties such as restraining criminal acts and protecting visiting petitioners and community service center staff.

When a malicious petitioner shouts loudly or uses abusive language, the officers respond by understanding the content, mediating according to the situation, collecting evidence through audio and video recording, and determining whether the situation escalates to violent behavior. If the petitioner commits violence or damages facilities, the officers protect staff, prevent violent acts, secure evidence through situation recording, contact cooperating agencies (112 and local police stations), and subdue armed or caught-in-the-act offenders before handing them over to the police.

The working hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, matching the operating hours of the community service centers, and officers wear uniforms while on duty.

An employee working at the Cheongpa-dong civil petition desk said, “Just having safety security officers in uniform makes me feel reassured,” and added, “I hope cases like last year’s verbal abuse and threats from petitioners do not recur.”

After the pilot operation in the four districts, the district plans to conduct a staff satisfaction survey and expand the program next year. In addition to deploying safety security officers, the district intends to reinforce safety partitions installed in civil petition offices across all 16 districts to protect staff from malicious petitioners.

District Mayor Park Hee-young stated, “Through the operation of safety security officers, we will ensure the safety of public officials from verbal abuse, assault, and sexual harassment, and provide high-quality administrative services to residents,” and added, “During the pilot operation, we will carefully manage the officers’ duties and safety training to ensure the system is well established.”

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