Reasons for Extending the 'Songpa Gumin Petition' for 30 Days?... Expanding Opportunities for Resident Participation

On the 2nd Anniversary of Resident Petitions, Some Operational Improvements Made...Support Period Extended from 20 to 30 Days with 1,000 Supporters

Songpa-gu Office Website Resident Petition Board

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is making some improvements to the operation method of the residents' petition system on its 2nd anniversary.

The Songpa Residents' Petition system has been in operation since March 2019 as one of the major campaign promises of the 7th local government administration to actively reflect residents' voices in policies.

Over the past two years, a total of 375 opinions have been submitted through the residents' petition window on the district's website. Among these, 44 were registered as petitions and went through the process of obtaining residents' consent, while 266 were classified as general complaints or inquiries and were responded to accordingly.

A major petition was the "Demand for Enactment of an Asbestos-related Ordinance." It became the first petition with the support of 1,287 people within 10 days, and through active reflection by the district, the "Seoul Special City Songpa-gu Asbestos Safety Management Ordinance" was enacted in October 2019.

Additionally, the petition "Request to Convert Songpa Book Museum into a Library," which received support from 547 people, was not established as a petition but served as a policy proposal, prompting a mid- to long-term review of whether the operation direction of the Songpa Book Museum meets residents' demands.

Accordingly, the district analyzed the performance of the system over two years and, starting from the 19th, expanded the criteria for petition establishment to increase residents' participation opportunities. As a result, the support period was extended from "20 days with 1,000 supporters" to "30 days," which is expected to allow more petitions to be established.

Furthermore, the district plans to promote the petition system through various channels such as Songpa TV and improve the system to make it easier for residents to use the petition window, focusing on revitalizing the petition system.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, "Over the past two years, we have made efforts to listen to diverse residents' opinions through the residents' petition system and reflect them in policies," adding, "We will continue to lower the threshold by easing petition establishment requirements to create policies that residents empathize with and trust."