[Editorial] "Citizens' Voice as Starting Point of Administration"...Pyeongtaek City Significantly Strengthens Civil Complaint Functions

Civil complaints are the most important concern for all local governments and public agencies. Accordingly, kindness training is being conducted for civil complaint staff regarding service improvement and methods for resolving dissatisfied complaints. The main focus is on building trust with complainants through an empathetic approach. Of course, various response methods for malicious complaints that cause serious difficulties are not overlooked.

Along with kindness training in civil complaint administrative services to impress citizens, continuous monitoring complaints also check the courtesy of responding civil servants. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with complaints continues to persist. Therefore, deliberation continues on how to achieve courteous, swift, and responsible civil complaint response.

In response, Pyeongtaek City has taken active steps. The city is pursuing organizational restructuring that significantly strengthens civil complaint functions. Mayor Choi Won-yong announced that the city will substantially strengthen civil complaint functions to resolve citizens' complaints more swiftly and responsibly. The city decided to expand and reorganize the civil complaint functions that belonged to the Administrative Autonomy Bureau and establish a new "Civil Complaint Service Bureau." The mayor announced that under the Civil Complaint Service Bureau, it will place the "One-Stop Civil Complaint Division," "Civil Complaint Service Division," "Building Permit Division," and "Housing Division." (Related article: Suwon Ilbo, 11th, "Pyeongtaek City to Establish Civil Complaint Service Bureau to Prioritize Citizens' Needs") On the 8th, a "Partial Amendment Ordinance to Pyeongtaek City Administrative Organization and Establishment" containing this content was also subject to legislative notice.

Mayor Choi Won-yong has consistently emphasized that he will take citizens' voices as the starting point of administration. In his inaugural address, he identified himself as a pragmatist and said, "Within a single line of a civil complaint lies the life of a citizen, and by going to the site, the essence of the problem becomes visible." Mayor Choi's assertion that civil complaints should be valued like gold and answers must be found in the field is entirely correct. All public officials should keep in mind and engrave in their hearts his statement that "the reason for the existence of public agencies is citizens."

The newly established One-Stop Civil Complaint Division in this organizational restructuring is the main division of the Civil Complaint Service Bureau. As Mayor Choi's flagship campaign promise, it handles everything from civil complaint filing to processing all at once. From citizens' perspective, they can process civil complaints more conveniently. Until now, those with complex complaints had to suffer the inconvenience of seeking out various divisions and responsible personnel.

In particular, the Building Permit Division and Housing Division, which have handled matters closely related to citizens' lives such as building permits, conversion of forestland and farmland, management of multi-unit housing and residential welfare, and construction of general residences and advertisements, will now belong to the Civil Complaint Service Bureau, reducing the inconvenience of citizens having to visit multiple departments and enabling smoother civil complaint processing.

It is hoped that Mayor Choi Won-yong's "citizen-centered civil complaint service," which views "civil complaints not simply as administrative work to be processed but as the starting point of city administration where citizens' voices can be heard most closely," becomes established in Pyeongtaek and spreads to all local governments, agencies, and public enterprises, and further to private companies throughout the country.