Interior ministry hosts first public grievance innovation forum under new government

South Korea's interior ministry said Friday the government held its first public grievance innovation case reporting forum at the Government Sejong Convention Center, where the president awarded citations to six officials for their work in resolving citizen complaints and reforming systems.

The event, presided over by the president, drew about 500 participants, including conflict mediation officers and one-stop complaint handling officials from the central government, local governments and education offices.

The citation recipients were Lee Sang-woo, a deputy director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Song Hyeong-geun, a section chief at the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City; Yun Seon-mok, a section chief at Gumi city in North Gyeongsang Province; Shin Young-ho, a section chief at the Korea Customs Service; Kim Jeong-hwan, a section chief at Hwaseong Special City in Gyeonggi Province; and Jeong Hye-eun, a section chief at Changnyeong County in South Gyeongsang Province.

"Listening and mediation take considerable time and sincerity, but the trust in government that accumulates as a result becomes a valuable asset for our nation's development," said Jeon Il-yeon, chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, according to the government's release.

Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung framed the shift in how the government approaches citizen complaints. "Civil complaints are no longer a burden to be processed, but a key to opening better administration," he said.

Five agencies presented their grievance resolution cases under four keywords during the forum. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission arranged 12 safety measures, including route adjustments, for a double-track railway line passing directly beneath an apartment building, resolving the dispute through mediation. Gumi city formed a one-stop complaint team of five division heads in administration, civil engineering, architecture and welfare to resolve complex complaints on site.

Hwaseong Special City built a field response system that includes a dedicated department for comprehensive administrative observation, a QR code service for everyday inconveniences, and a rapid-response task force for traffic and road complaints. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups analyzed recurring dispute complaints in the venture investment process and prepared a standard venture investment contract and commentary through public-private consultations.