District Rolls Out 20-Minute Automatic Call Termination System for Prolonged Malicious Complaint Calls, Acting Instantly on Staff Feedback From Communication Meeting

Strengthened Civil Complaint Mediation Committee Review Means Repeated Complaints on the Same Issue Get an Institution-Wide Response From the Complaints Department

Communicating with complaint-handling staff
Communicating with complaint-handling staff

Seongdong-gu, Seoul, said it will strengthen its response system against malicious, repetitive complaints. The measures include the full rollout of a "20-minute automatic call termination system" for complaint hotlines, aimed at preventing wasted administrative resources from prolonged consultation calls and protecting complaint-handling staff.

The district established the "20-minute automatic call termination system" based on "recommended consultation time and call termination guidelines." The move follows the Ministry of Interior and Safety's guidelines on measures against unlawful acts and repeat complaints. The change directly addresses concerns raised at a communication meeting between the district mayor and complaint-handling staff held July 31.

At the meeting, one employee said, "Even though the government guidelines set a recommended consultation time, it is a heavy burden in practice to personally tell a malicious complainant that the call is ending and then hang up." The employee suggested, "It would be good to introduce a system that automatically notifies the caller and ends the call after a set amount of time."

In response, District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa immediately ordered the system's introduction and implementation on the spot, moving to resolve employees' grievances.

The newly introduced system notifies callers, when their call is first connected, that the call will automatically end 20 minutes after it begins. If the call exceeds 20 minutes, an automated voice announcement plays and the system ends the call. The measure is expected to significantly ease the psychological burden on staff caused by prolonged, repeated consultations.

Alongside this, the district will expand the role of its Civil Complaint Mediation Committee to strengthen an institution-wide response to malicious, repetitive complaints. The district plans to add the handling of such complaints to the committee's existing key review areas. This will prevent the complaint burden from concentrating on a specific employee or department and ensure a more systematic response.

Under Article 23 of the Act on the Treatment of Civil Petitions, complaints submitted three or more times without justifiable reason receive special treatment. Authorities may notify the complainant of the processing results twice or more, and then close out any further submissions of the same complaint. If the same complaint continues to be filed after that, the Civil Complaint Mediation Committee will review the matter and take necessary measures. These measures include having the department in charge of complaints overall — rather than the department originally responsible — issue the response.

By expanding the response to malicious, repetitive complaints from a department-centered approach to an institution-wide one, the district is expected to reduce the psychological and workload burden on employees. The change is also expected to support proactive and responsible administration, bolstering anti-corruption and integrity in governance.

District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa said, "This automatic termination system is the bare minimum safeguard to protect employees from malicious complaints." She added, "We will strengthen our institution-wide complaint response system so that our staff can work with peace of mind and proactively, and in turn provide better administrative services to our residents."


seouldream01@heraldcorp.com