Lee Jae-myung: "Petitions Hiding Residents' Opinions Are Wrong," Orders Full Disclosure

After criticism over administrator-initiated concealment of petitions posted on the 'Gyeonggi Province Residents' Petition' platform launched for direct communication with residents, Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province ordered full disclosure of all petitions.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 10th, Governor Lee received a related report and stated, "The purpose of the petition system is to listen to and respect each and every voice of the residents. Concealing and selectively posting them is wrong," and ordered, "Disclose all petitions in full."

Previously, the province opened the 'Gyeonggi Province Residents' Petition' website on the 2nd to gather residents' opinions on major provincial policies and current issues.

Since its launch, a total of 111 petitions have been submitted to the Gyeonggi Province Residents' Petition website, of which 59 petitions had actually been processed as of 10 a.m. on the 10th.

Of the remaining 52 petitions, the province concealed 46 petitions opposing the construction of a golf course in Goyang City, citing duplicate complaints, and hid 6 petitions including 3 demanding Governor Lee's resignation, 2 criticizing excessive publicity budget allocations, and 1 objecting to concealment, citing them as inappropriate posts.

Initially, the province introduced a preliminary appropriateness review process to filter out false statements and other unsuitable posts on the petition website, but following the governor's directive, it changed course to full disclosure without preliminary review.

Following this disclosure decision, as of 10 a.m. on the 10th, the Gyeonggi Province Residents' Petition bulletin board has added 52 posts, including 46 petitions opposing the Goyang golf course construction, with a total of 111 petitions now in progress.