[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Public Complaints Sent in Circles? ... "Ping-Pong Complaints" Between Ministry of Science and ICT, Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission Surge 12-Fold

Kim Sunmin: "Jointly handle cases when jurisdiction is unclear"

The so-called “ping-pong complaints,” which are repeatedly passed back and forth between the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission, increased nearly 12-fold in a year. Since the government reorganization that transferred some broadcasting responsibilities to the commission, confusion over handling complaints about telecommunications fees and paid add-on services has also emerged.

Rep. Kim Sunmin of the Rebuilding Korea Party. Yonhap News Agency

According to data submitted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to Rep. Kim Sunmin of the Rebuilding Korea Party on Oct. 21, 556 ping-pong complaints passed through both agencies from January to September this year, an 11.8-fold increase from 47 during the same period last year. Over the same period, the total number of ping-pong complaints filed through e-People, the government’s online petition system, rose by just 1.2 times.

The number of cases in which the two agencies alone passed complaints back and forth more than three times also increased tenfold, from 13 to 131. The number of complaints repeatedly transferred between the two agencies without involving any others, as well as those ultimately handled by a third agency, rose from 2 to 139.

Cases of delayed complaint handling were also identified. A complaint about victims being illegally signed up for paid add-on services by a telecommunications carrier was transferred 16 times in total, including seven times to the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission and six times to the Ministry of Science and ICT, before being resolved 40 days after it was filed. A complaint concerning a malfunction at an aging data center was also sent back and forth after the two agencies each said they lacked investigative authority, before the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission stepped in to mediate.

The two agencies held policy and working-level consultations after the reorganization, but did not discuss criteria for handling complaints that are repeatedly transferred. The number of ping-pong complaints has fallen to around 30 a month since August this year, but remains six to seven times higher than the pre-reorganization monthly average of about five.

“They are shifting the inconvenience onto the public, each saying that the matter is not their responsibility,” Rep. Kim said. “We need to clarify the criteria for determining which agency is responsible for complaints and establish a system for handling cases jointly when responsibility is unclear.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.