Introduction

What is an ombudsman?

An ombudsman refers to an official appointed to protect the basic rights of citizens by investigating a complaint within a certain scope of authority and calling for the issue to be corrected when a citizen suffers loss or harm by administrative officials’ illegal act or unjust administrative disposition and files a complaint.

Today, the system originated in Sweden is widely accepted across the world. Being independent from the administration, ombudsmen prevent violation of freedom and rights of citizens caused by misuse or abuse of administrative power, control it properly and resolve issues when loss or harm occurs, eventually improving institutions.

Seocho-gu Ombudsman

The Seocho-gu Ombudsman service, which has been newly launched in 2023, deals with complaints of residents against Seocho-gu Office and its affiliated organizations in order to protect civil rights and improve unreasonable administrative systems from an independent standpoint.

Complaints go through the process of [Submission/Receipt -> Investigation/Report -> Deliberation/Decision -> Reply to Complainant], and according to this process, the ombudsman conducts independent investigation and deliberation, reaches an agreement and calls for the administration to correct issues.

Basis for Establishment

• Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission
• Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Organization and Management of Seocho-gu Ombudsman

History

• Aug. 22, 2022 : Enactment of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Organization and Operation of Seocho-gu Ombudsman
• Sep. 21 – Oct. 5, 2022 : Open recruitment of Seocho-gu Ombudsman
• Jan. 9, 2023 : Appointment of a permanent ombudsman
• Jan. 17, 2023 : Agreement on (non-permanent) ombudsman appointment passed by Seocho-gu Council
• Jan. 31, 2023 : Appointment of a non-permanent ombudsman
• Feb. 27, 2023 : Launching of Seocho-gu Ombudsman Secretariat

Organization Chart

• Ombudsman Secretariat Staff

  Ombudsman Secretariat Staff

  Name (Contact)	Duties
  Secretary-General Na Jung-weon ☎+82-2-2155-6057	○ Managing overall tasks of Ombudsman Secretariat ○ Discussing matters with ombudsmen and institutions (departments)
  Investigator Kim Hyo-jeong ☎+82-2-2155-6062	○ Supporting activities including ombudsmen investigation ○ Preparing and managing regular and extraordinary general meetings (preparing meeting materials, keeping minutes of meetings, etc.) ○ Managing the civil service comprehensive evaluation index
  Investigator Seo Geon-ho ☎+82-2-2155-6058	○ Supporting activities including ombudsmen investigation ○ Establishing an annual operation plan ○ Reporting and disclosing operation details (website, national assembly, etc.) ○ International cooperation (preparing relevant materials of external institutions such as the district council)
  Investigator Lee Eun-joo ☎+82-2-2155-6059	○ General affairs ○ Supporting activities including ombudsmen investigation ○ Receiving and selecting civil complaints to be handled ○ PR tasks (managing the website, preparing press release, etc.) ○ Dealing with matters related to activities of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)

Greetings

Greetings Seocho-gu residents,
Thank you for visiting the Seocho-gu Ombudsman website.

The Seocho-gu Ombudsman has been launched in 2023 to protect the rights of residents by resolving issues caused by illegitimate or unjust administrative actions or unreasonable practices and institutions impartially from an independent standpoint.

Public officials of Seocho-gu resolve residents’ complaints wholeheartedly. Furthermore, ombudsmen are responsible for addressing issues when more just and objective investigation is required from residents’ perspective, disputes need to be resolved, or practices or institutions need improvement.

Ombudsmen not only address complaints to meet the demands of residents but also improve unreasonable institutions, therefore protecting residents’ rights and making Seocho-gu Office a leading institution. We sincerely ask for your attention and interest in using this service.

Thank you.

Roles

Handling Complaints

Seocho-gu ombudsmen resolve complaints where residents suffer from inconveniences or their rights are breached due to unlawful or unfair actions, dispositions caused by neglect of duty (including acts of fact and omissions) and unreasonable administrative processes.

Processing

• 1. Submission/receipt: Deciding whether the complaint received is handled and investigated and designating an ombudsman and investigator in charge of it
• 2. Investigation/report: Writing an investigation report and reporting to the representative ombudsman
• 3. Deliberation/decision: Calling for correction, delivering comments, recommending institution improvement and requesting an audit, etc.
• 4. Reply to complainant: Providing an update to the complainant and notifying the relevant department of it

How to submit

A submitted complaint is supposed to be processed within 60 days of receipt, but please understand that it can be delayed if there is a valid reason.

• Online
  • Go to “Submit Complaint” to file a complaint on the Seocho-gu Office website http://www.seocho.go.kr

    (General Civil Complaint > Secho-gu Ombudsman > Submit Complaint)

• Visit/mail : Fill out a complaint form (download the form on the website) and submit it to the Seocho-gu Ombudsman Secretariat
  • Address: 3F, Seocho-gu Ombudsman Secretariat, 201 Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06749, Republic of Korea
  • Contact: 02-2155-6058~9

Seocho-gu Ombudsman News

• (https://www.seocho.go.kr/site/seocho/ex/bbs/List.do?cbIdx=415)

Directions

• Address : 3F, Seocho-gu Ombudsman Secretariat, 201 Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06749, Republic of Korea
• Subway (Line 3 & Shinbundang Line) : 3 minutes of walking distance to the direction of Seoul Family Court from Exit 9 of Yangjae Station (about 100 m)