[Exclusive] Impact of Abolishing 'Moon Government Blue House National Petition'?... National Assembly Petitions Increase Fivefold

청 National Petition 'Alternative' Becomes National Assembly Consent Petition
Surge Since Yoon Government Inauguration in May... 2,497 Cases Submitted Until July This Year
National Assembly Petitions Increased Fivefold in May-July Compared to Last Year
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[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Lee Gi-min] Since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the number of National Assembly petitions requiring public consent has surged explosively. This phenomenon is interpreted as the public using the National Assembly as an alternative platform for public discourse after the disappearance of the “Blue House National Petition,” which previously served as a channel for social opinion.

According to the “Number of National Assembly Petitions Requiring Public Consent” data submitted by the National Assembly Secretariat to Asia Economy on the 23rd, the number of such petitions submitted to the National Assembly from the beginning of this year through July reached 2,597, surpassing not only last year’s total of 1,389 but also the 2,424 petitions submitted in 2020.

National Assembly petitions requiring public consent must obtain preliminary consent from at least 100 people within 30 days after submission to be published on the website, and then must secure the consent of 50,000 people within another 30 days for the petition to be established, making the requirements quite stringent. Moreover, there have been criticisms that petitions are not resolved satisfactorily. For this reason, during the previous administration, these petitions received relatively less attention compared to the Blue House National Petitions.

However, since the new administration took office, the number of National Assembly petitions requiring public consent has surged. In May of this year, after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, 730 petitions were submitted, followed by 897 in June and 740 in July. Compared to only 29 petitions in February this year, the number of National Assembly petitions has sharply increased around the time of the new government’s inauguration.

Currently ongoing petitions include those calling for the eradication of child abuse, retroactive application of parental benefits, expedited approval of breast cancer treatments, and opposition to the abolition of foreign language high schools. Recently, a petition opposing the establishment of the Police Bureau attracted attention with 350,000 preliminary consents.

The sharp increase in National Assembly petitions since the current administration is interpreted as linked to the abolition of the “Blue House National Petition.” The new government abolished the Blue House National Petition system, citing that the way petition contents were disclosed had been fostering public conflict. As a result, the demand for petitions aimed at raising public awareness through discourse has largely shifted to the National Assembly.

Of course, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration also established a communication channel called “National Proposals.” However, in the case of National Proposals, which accept complaints, suggestions, and petitions together, the contents are treated as confidential except in exceptional cases such as the top 10 National Proposals selected by a selection committee. Because of this, the function of public discourse has been significantly weakened. Furthermore, although an online vote was recently held for the “Top 3” among 10 outstanding proposals selected from National Proposals, the selection process was canceled due to abuse issues.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The National Assembly petitions have not achieved significant results since the system’s introduction. So far, 46 petitions have been established, including legislative petitions that led to actual legislation, such as those ordering measures against the “Nth Room” case. However, many were discarded due to the expiration of the National Assembly session. Even if a petition is established, it undergoes legislative procedures afterward, so unless the matter is urgent or there is strong public pressure, it tends to remain pending in the National Assembly for a long time, making it difficult to proceed quickly.

Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary-General of the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters, said, “Since the platform where people could express their opinions disappeared, they ended up turning to the National Assembly,” adding, “From the perspective of platform digital democracy, it is regrettable that the Presidential Office abolished the petition channel. It is a system used overseas, including in the Obama administration in the U.S., so it is unfortunate that it was closed just because it belonged to the previous government.”