A civic group in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, has defined the administration of ‘impounding mobile phones in the Tongyeong mayoral office’ as a human rights violation and has called for its immediate halt and an apology to the public.

The Tongyeong Citizens Coalition for Participation held a press conference at the South Gyeongsang Provincial Government Press Center on the 14th and stated, “Mayor Cheon Young-gi of Tongyeong makes citizens and public officials visiting the mayoral office leave their mobile phones with the secretary office, a practice that is anachronistic and high-handed, reminiscent of a dictatorship era and an abuse of power.”

They argued that this conduct tramples on constitutionally guaranteed freedom of communication and basic rights, and reflects an arrogant mindset that regards citizens not as partners in communication but as targets of ‘surveillance and control’.

According to the Tongyeong Citizens Coalition for Participation, Tongyeong City is currently collecting mobile phones not only from citizens visiting the mayoral office but also from its own public officials. The group said, “If the administration is transparent and confident, there is no reason to fear being recorded,” and added, “A closed style of leadership that cannot even trust fellow public servants and starts by taking away their mobile phones is leading to a decline in administrative quality and harm to citizens.”

They claimed that such high-handed administration is also evident in objective indicators. In the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission’s ‘2025 Comprehensive Integrity Assessment of Public Institutions’, Tongyeong City ranked at Grade 4 overall. In particular, in the ‘perceived integrity’ category, which is directly evaluated by petitioners and internal staff, it received the lowest Grade 5, which they argue is not unrelated to the high-handed administration.

The Tongyeong Citizens Coalition for Participation demanded that Mayor Cheon immediately abolish the measure of forcibly collecting mobile phones, issue a public apology for authoritarian behavior, and take responsibility for the lowest result in perceived integrity. It also urged the Tongyeong City Government Employees Union to demand that the mayor take active corrective action regarding the human rights-violating practice.

A representative of the group said, “Until our demands are met, we will mobilize every possible means, including filing a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea or paying a protest visit, to respond strongly.”

An official of Tongyeong City said, “It is understood that the mobile phone storage cabinet was installed about a year and six months ago,” adding, “To my knowledge, it was installed because the ringtone of mobile phones of public officials was disruptive during approvals,” and stated that they plan to remove the cabinet. Regarding the low integrity score, the official said, “We will work to achieve a good result.”