Incheon education office codifies 20-minute limit on abusive complaints

The Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education has strengthened institutional protections for school staff against abusive complaints.

The office codified complaint-handling standards into a local ordinance to reduce the burden on staff dealing with prolonged verbal abuse and to improve the efficiency of educational administration.

The office announced Wednesday that a revised version of the "Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Complaint Handlers" passed the second plenary session of the 312th extraordinary session of the Incheon Metropolitan Council on Friday. The revised ordinance is set to be promulgated Aug. 10.

The core of the revision is that consultation time limits and procedures for ending consultations — previously governed only by internal guidelines and manuals based on enforcement decrees under the Civil Complaints Processing Act — now have an explicit legal basis in the ordinance.

Under the revised ordinance, consultations involving abusive language, profanity or repeated complaints on the same matter may be capped at 20 minutes per session, whether by phone or in person.

Civil servants handling such complaints must notify the complainant at the 15-minute mark that the session is nearing its end, and may terminate it once 20 minutes have elapsed.

However, the standard does not apply uniformly to all complainants — it is limited to cases that obstruct normal complaint processing, such as verbal abuse, threats or repeated filings of the same grievance.

The office said it expects the revision to reduce the mental and administrative burden on complaint handlers, minimize unnecessary use of administrative resources, and create an environment where staff can focus more on student education and administrative services.

The office also plans follow-up measures to reduce confusion once the system takes effect, including updating automated phone guidance systems and posting notices at complaint windows informing the public of the recommended consultation time limits.