Another Tragic Death... "Are Public Officials Meant to Endure and Tolerate Unconditionally?"

The Korean Government Employees' Labor Union Federation (Gongnochoeng) held a press conference on November 6, 2023, near the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, urging measures to address malicious civil complaints against public officials.
[Photo by Gongnochoeng]

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The tragic death of Mr. A, a public official in his 30s at Gimpo City Hall who suffered from various malicious complaints and had his personal information exposed, highlights how serious a problem malicious complaints can be for public servants. On the 29th of last month, Mr. A received protest complaints when traffic congestion occurred due to pothole repair work on a road in Gimpo. What could have ended as a routine complaint escalated when his personal information was exposed on an online cafe, leading to a flood of protests. Although the exact causal relationship between Mr. A’s death and the malicious complaints is not yet known, according to his family, he reportedly suffered mental distress from the complaints.

Mr. A is not the only public official who has taken extreme measures after suffering from malicious complaints. A recent representative case is the so-called Seoicho teacher death incident. On July 18th last year, a teacher in charge of a first-grade class at Seoicho Elementary School was found dead by suicide on school grounds, shocking society. The deceased was known to have struggled with complaints from parents and managing problematic students, but police investigations found no specific charges such as ‘parental abuse of power.’ However, his death sparked a ‘Teacher Rights Restoration Movement’ involving hundreds of thousands of teachers and even led to the passage of the ‘Teacher Rights Restoration Four Acts’ in the National Assembly to protect teachers’ legitimate educational activities. The Ministry of Personnel Management notified the teacher’s family last month that his death was recognized as a work-related fatality.

Training session for handling malicious civil complaints conducted last year at Seongbuk-gu Office, Seoul [Photo by Seongbuk-gu Office]

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According to statistics from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, from 2019 to June 2023, 1,131 public officials filed claims for work-related injuries due to mental illness. From 2018 to June 2023, 100 public elementary, middle, and high school teachers were recorded to have taken their own lives. The Korean Government Employees’ Union Federation (hereafter KGEUF) has continuously demanded that the government and National Assembly strengthen penalties for malicious complaints.

In a survey conducted by KGEUF from August 21 to September 8 last year among 7,061 union members, 84% of respondents reported receiving malicious complaints within the past five years. The frequency of malicious complaints was highest at 42.3% for 1 to 3 times per month, followed by less than once per month at 30%, 6 or more times per month at 15.6%, and 4 to 5 times per month at 12.1%. The main types of malicious complaints included demands that were institutionally impossible, repeated complaints despite appropriate responses, and verbal abuse such as insults and swearing. After receiving malicious complaints, the most common aftereffects were stress from lingering emotions even after work, decreased concentration and lethargy, and fear of dealing with new complainants.

Regarding satisfaction with current workplace responses to malicious complaints, 88.3% of respondents expressed negative opinions, and 76.3% said their institutions took no appropriate measures. The most needed policies for dealing with malicious complaints were identified as strengthening penalties for illegal acts by malicious complainants, institutions taking the lead in filing complaints against malicious complainants, and establishing dedicated teams to handle malicious complaints.

The Korea Government Employees' Union Federation (Gongnochong) held a press conference on November 6, 2023, near the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, urging measures to address malicious civil complaints against public officials.
[Photo by Gongnochong]

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Seok Hyun-jung, Chairperson of KGEUF, said, "The issue of malicious complaints against public employee workers is not new. Alongside wages, malicious complaints are a major reason for turnover, and this survey has proven how negatively malicious complaints affect the entire public sector. As the issue of power harassment against relatively weaker parties is emerging as a social problem, we will demand that the government and National Assembly promptly establish legal and institutional measures to protect public employee workers from malicious complaints."

Kim Hyung-tae, Youth Committee Chair of the City-County-District Federation, said, "Public employee workers in the Republic of Korea dedicate themselves to the nation and its people with the mindset of serving all citizens, but they suffer a double burden of physical and mental violence from malicious complaints alongside the government’s unilateral demands for sacrifice. Seeing seniors, colleagues, and juniors who silently endure pain and suffering under the perception of ‘If you are a public official, you have to endure this much!’ and eventually leave public service is heartbreaking and infuriating." He added, "The idea that ‘public officials must endure no matter what!’ must disappear now. It must be clearly recognized that maliciously attacking public employee workers under the guise of complaints is a clear crime."

Illustration by Kim Dahee

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