Seoul Metro, the operator of the Seoul subway system, is set to adopt a tougher stance to combat persistent harassment and verbal abuse by imposing restrictions on complaints and considering legal action against repeat offenders.
“We will actively pursue measures to address repeated malicious complaints that disrupt our operations,” the operator said Wednesday in a statement.
Under the new measures, repeat offenders will be registered on a blacklist and will be barred from submitting complaints for a set period. Seoul Metro will also take legal action against those who engage in such behavior.
For complainants who continue to submit malicious complaints three times or more, even after receiving a response, the subway operator will notify them that the has been addressed. Further complaints after that point will lead to the subway operator taking legal action.
This marks a shift from Seoul Metro’s previous, more passive approach.
Previously, before connecting complaint calls, Seoul Metro informed callers about the legal protections available to customer service employees. Measures such as granting leave to employees targeted by malicious complainants and providing recording devices were implemented as well.
According to Seoul Metro, 51,711 cases, or 3.8 percent of the 1,357,384 complaints received last year, were classified as malicious. These complaints included harassment, insults, verbal abuse, threats and repetitive claims.
Broken down by channel, the customer center received 49,322 malicious complaints, the Seoul Metro website received 2,213, and Seoul City’s online complaint website received 176.
Examples of malicious complaints cited by Seoul Metro included threats to harm employees over missed flights allegedly caused by the subway system’s shortcomings. In another instance, a complainant inquired about train numbers roughly 15,000 times in a single year.
In addition to the blacklist, Seoul Metro also plans to bolster employee psychological counseling and maintain the confidentiality of complaint handlers’ personal information to safeguard them.
