Gwangmyeong Introduces 'Automatic Call Termination System' to Address Verbal Abuse and Prolonged Repetitive Complaints

Responding to Verbal Abuse, Profanity, and Prolonged Calls
Enhanced Protection for Civil Service Staff
Faster and Fairer Civil Service for Citizens

On May 18, Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province announced that it has introduced an “Automatic Call Termination System” to protect civil service staff from verbal abuse and prolonged, repetitive complaints.

A view of Gwangmyeong City Hall. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

The “Automatic Call Termination Service” is a system that automatically ends a call after a pre-recorded announcement if the call exceeds a certain duration or if inappropriate behavior such as verbal abuse or profanity occurs.

Until now, certain repeated or malicious complaints have not only increased the psychological burden on the civil servants in charge, but have also caused delays in the smooth handling of other citizens’ inquiries.

In response, the city conducted a pilot operation of the system in select departments starting in mid-April to gather on-site feedback. After completing a demand survey of all departments by May 8, the city began full-scale implementation of the system on May 12.

The city expects that the introduction of this system will not only prevent physical and psychological harm to staff, but also reduce wasted administrative resources, allowing for faster and fairer civil service for more citizens.

Choi Hyemin, Acting Mayor (and Deputy Mayor) of Gwangmyeong, stated, "This service is a minimum safeguard to protect staff responding to civil complaints, and a measure to ensure fair and efficient administrative services for more citizens." She added, "We will continue to do our best to foster a healthy civil complaint culture in which citizens and public officials mutually respect each other."

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