"Withdrawal of Complaints Due to Incomplete Documents?" ... Recommendation to Amend Local Regulations Violating the Civil Petition Processing Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] # A-gu Office unilaterally regarded the withdrawal of a civil complaint when documents submitted by the complainant to the government office were incomplete, despite the obligation to clearly state the reason for rejection.

# B City sets the objection application period to 7 days, even though Article 35 of the Civil Complaint Handling Act stipulates a 60-day objection application period and a 10-day processing period for objection applications regarding legal civil complaint rejections.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 3rd that it plans to extensively review and recommend amendments to local government ordinances and regulations nationwide that may infringe on the rights and interests of civil complainants.

Despite the enactment and enforcement of the "Civil Complaint Handling Act" to ensure fair and lawful handling of civil complaints and protection of citizens' rights, four types of regulations that violate the Act or fail to properly reflect its intent are targeted.

The types of ordinances included in this review are ▲ regulations deeming civil complaint applications withdrawn ▲ regulations setting objection application periods that violate the Civil Complaint Handling Act ▲ regulations related to notifying complainants when convening the Civil Complaint Mediation Committee ▲ regulations mandating the use of revenue stamps for fees and charges.

For example, an ordinance that deems a civil complaint withdrawn if the complainant does not supplement the documents, instead of rejecting it with reasons as stipulated in the Enforcement Decree of the Civil Complaint Handling Act, falls under the 'regulations deeming civil complaint applications withdrawn' category and must be revised. Also, if the objection application period for rejection decisions is shortened compared to the 60-day period stipulated by the Civil Complaint Handling Act, it is included in this review as a 'regulation setting objection application periods that violate the Civil Complaint Handling Act.'

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety previously promoted the revision of local ordinances that did not comply with higher laws or caused inconvenience to residents, such as revising ordinances that omitted discounts on public facility usage fees for national merit recipients in cooperation with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in June.

Lee Jae-gwan, Director of Local Autonomy and Decentralization at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "This revision project was prepared to prevent infringement on residents' rights during the civil complaint handling process due to ordinances that do not comply with the Civil Complaint Handling Act," adding, "It will serve as an opportunity to raise awareness among local governments about protecting the rights and interests of civil complainants."