Gyeonggi Province Citizen Petition System: Requirements Lowered from 50,000 to 10,000 Supporters...Governor to Provide Direct Response

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Gyeonggi Province's citizen petition system will lower its qualification requirement from the previous 50,000 or more supporters to 10,000 or more starting this year.

Additionally, the system has been improved to require direct response from the governor, which is expected to increase citizen usage of the platform.

Gyeonggi Province's citizen petition system has been in operation since January 2019 to provide residents with a channel for free policy suggestions and institutional improvements, fostering policy development that reflects citizens' daily lives.

To date, over 20,000 petitions (23,618 petitions as of December 31, 2022) have been submitted.

Gyeonggi Province decided to modify the system as a campaign promise of the 8th gubernatorial term to expand opportunities for public participation and enhance the effectiveness of participatory democracy.

Accordingly, the current qualification requirement of 50,000 or more supporters over 30 days has been relaxed to 10,000 or more supporters, and the response method has been changed from answers by relevant department heads or bureau chiefs to direct response by the governor, strengthening accountability.

To this end, the province plans to undertake website (petitions.gg.go.kr) improvements over two months starting January this year.

Petitions established before system improvements are completed will be processed according to the revised standards.

Gyeonggi Province's citizen petitions allow anyone (anonymous, domestic and foreign residents, with no geographic restrictions) to participate in issues and policy suggestions related to Gyeonggi Provincial affairs. Participation is available by logging in through personal social media (SNS) accounts.

However, politically sensitive issues, repetitive petitions, and other posts that undermine public interests or do not align with the purpose of the bulletin board fall under ‘excluded petition matters.’ Since posts cannot be deleted or modified after registration, they must be written carefully.

Once petition writing is completed, the post is immediately published on the website, and after a 30-day opinion-gathering period, if 10,000 or more people agree, a response from the governor (such as an on-site visit or video/posted reply) can be received within 30 days.

Kim Chun-gi, director of Gyeonggi Province's Open Complaint Office, stated, "We hope that the citizen petition system, which will be newly implemented and operated in 2023, becomes more active through relaxed qualification requirements," and added, "We expect that the strengthened accountability through the governor's direct response will build trust with citizens and increase citizen satisfaction with provincial affairs."