The South Korean government, aiming to prevent abusive language from individuals handling complaints, has implemented measures for automatic call recording, which has been widely adopted by organizations. A study by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety revealed that after the amendment of the Civil Petition Act’s enforcement ordinance last October, the adoption rate of both automatic and manual recording for phone complaints stands at 99.2% among 3,934 institutions, including central administrative bodies, local governments, and educational offices. For instance, central government departments have a 99.5% adoption rate, local governments 98.1%, and educational offices 100%. Additionally, the introduction rate for automatic recording is 63.4%, and manual recording is 35.7%.
The survey also found a gradual adoption of ‘recommended time per complaint’ to alleviate work overload due to lengthy processing. Most institutions set this time to 20 minutes per complaint, with an average being 20.66 minutes. Some entities, like the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and Yeonggwang County in South Jeolla Province, implement different times depending on whether the interaction is via phone or in-person.
Setting legal grounds for recommended processing time through regulations shows varied implementation rates: 20% for central institutions, 30.29% for local governments, and 76% for educational offices.
Despite these measures, response rates to restrict access and conduct removal following abuse or assault were not high. Safety training for staff had an average implementation rate of 49.4%, and notices regarding possible removal in case of abusive behavior were present in 70.3% of cases. Some areas, such as Yeoido, Yongsan, and Seongbuk districts in Seoul, along with South Chungcheong and North Jeolla provinces, reported more than five cases of removal action against abusive behavior.
When legal support for staff facing lawsuits or complaints is necessary, budget availability was reported to be at an average of 79.1%. Each organization is also adopting liability insurance to further protect employees.
The Ministry plans to include criteria such as full recording, recommended time setting, and restriction measures implementation in this year’s comprehensive petition service evaluation. Additionally, plans to expand insurance coverage for institutions lacking liability insurance are under review. The Ministry aims to finalize its comprehensive evaluation plan by next month and is pushing for the passage of a bill in the National Assembly that includes preventive measures and response guidelines for handling malicious complaints.