(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ok Seong-gu = Malicious complaints against employees of the Ministry of Employment and Labor who suffered from verbal abuse and threats are showing a decreasing trend, but complaints and complaints against labor inspectors have recently increased sharply.
According to data received from the Ministry of Labor by the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hak-young, a member of the National Assembly Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee on the 5th, the number of annual complaints to the Ministry of Labor was 26.188 million last year.
The Ministry of Labor, which handles various employment and labor-related matters such as delayed payment of wages and unemployment benefits, is considered the department with the most complaints among central ministries.
By year, the number of complaints to the Ministry of Labor decreased from 25.678 million in 2022 to 24.53 million in 2023, but then increased for two consecutive years to 24.748 million in 2024 and 26.188 million last year. This year, 14,507,000 cases were received as of June.
On the other hand, malicious complaints such as verbal abuse and assault tended to decrease.
The number of annual malicious complaints to the Ministry of Labor increased from 2,436 in 2022 to 3,116 in 2023, but then plummeted to 1,156 in 2024 and 624 last year. This year, there were 244 malicious complaints as of June.
As of last year, malicious complaints were diverse, including 403 cases of verbal abuse, 77 cases of threats, and 10 cases of sexual harassment.
In an actual damage case, labor inspector A was assaulted while waiting for an elevator in the hallway by a complainant who was dissatisfied that his application for early work allowance was not accepted. Mr. B was punched twice while trying to stop a complainant who was making a fuss in the office building.
Last September, there was an incident in which a 50-year-old complainant who was dissatisfied with the handling of civil complaints went to the Labor Minister's office at the Sejong Government Complex and attempted to set a fire, but was caught by the police.
It is believed that against the background of the decrease in malicious complaints, the Ministry of Labor strengthened legal response at the institutional level by activating the 'Special Complaint Employee Protection Unit' in August 2023.
The Ministry of Labor responds in principle to reporting to the police or reporting to the agency when an employee is assaulted.
From 2023 to present, there have been a total of 25 cases of employee assault, of which 4 were responded to through institutional complaints and 12 were responded to by police reports. The remaining 9 cases were closed without any action because the employees did not want to be punished.
However, unlike the downward trend in malicious complaints, complaints against Ministry of Labor employees are increasing.
From August 2023, when the Employee Protection Unit for Unusual Civil Complaints was launched, until May of this year, a total of 248 cases were filed against labor inspectors.
It is gradually increasing to 54 cases from August to December 2023, 58 cases in 2024, and 74 cases last year. This year, as of May alone, 62 cases had already been filed, showing a steep increase.
In 37 of the 248 cases, the Ministry of Labor provided legal support, including legal advice and consultation, including writing opinions, and appointing lawyers.
In the remaining 209 cases, no separate legal support was provided as there was no formal attendance request from the investigative agency.
Rep. Lee Hak-young said, “It is said that verbal abuse by complainants has decreased, but the number of complaints against supervisors has increased significantly,” and emphasized, “The Ministry of Labor must establish a system that takes responsibility for the judgments of supervisors so that supervisors who protect the workplace can make their own decisions without worrying about being sued.”
