Over 1,000 Petitions Filed by a Single Person... Blue House Warns of Significant Social Costs from Repeated Petitions

Blue House Releases Analysis of e-People Petitions
91 Repeat Petitioners Submitted 300,000 Cases
Majority Concern Court Rulings and Disciplinary Requests for Officials
"Significant Increase in Professional Staff and Appointment of Citizen C

Snow has accumulated overnight across the country, with snow piled up at the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of February 2, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Since the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration, nearly 100 people have filed more than 1,000 repetitive civil complaints each. Their complaints alone amount to approximately 300,000 cases, accounting for 4.5% of the total. The Blue House stated that such repeated complaints incur social costs and announced plans to increase personnel to address the issue.

According to an analysis of complaints submitted to the e-People petition system released by the Blue House and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on February 2, a total of 6.62 million complaints were filed between June 4 and December 31 of last year. Excluding the period when the e-People system was suspended due to a fire at the National Information Resources Service, the average number of complaints received per month was about 1.11 million.

Among these, there were 91 individuals who repeatedly submitted more than 1,000 complaints each. The complaints filed by these individuals totaled approximately 300,000, making up 4.5% of all complaints. Their grievances were related to dissatisfaction with court rulings or investigation results, requests for audits or disciplinary action against civil servants handling their cases, and matters concerning the attraction or avoidance of specific facilities.

The Blue House announced its intention to manage repetitive and group conflict-related complaints more effectively, based on the analysis of e-People petitions. To this end, it will significantly expand the number of experts in the newly established Department of Group Conflict Mediation within the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and appoint more than 100 citizen counselors. In addition, group conflict management officers will be assigned at various agencies to strengthen each institution's capacity to resolve complaints internally.

Jeon Sunghwan, Senior Secretary for Public Engagement and Integration, stated, "Civil complaints are a valuable channel for listening to the voices of the people, but long-term repetitive or group conflict complaints can result in significant social costs," emphasizing, "It is necessary to reduce the overall volume of complaints and focus on resolving those that can be addressed."

The group filing the most complaints: men in their 30s... By age, those in their 40s top the list

Meanwhile, when categorized by gender and age, the group that filed the most complaints was men in their 30s, accounting for 16.1% of all complaints. The Blue House explained that these complaints were mainly related to changes in apartment asset values and elementary school assignments for their children.

By age group, those in their 40s accounted for the largest share at 26.6%, followed by those in their 30s at 23.7%. The next largest groups were those in their 50s at 20.5% and those aged 60 and above at 17.7%. Notably, the number of complaints from those aged 60 and above nearly doubled compared to 2022, highlighting a trend toward an aging population of complainants.

The topics of complaints also varied by age. Teenagers mainly filed complaints about student rights, inconvenience in using buses and other public transportation, and issues related to gaming or online scams. In their 20s, the main topics were military service, obtaining certifications, and animal welfare. For those aged 60 and above, redevelopment, transportation infrastructure, and consumer coupons for livelihood recovery were the predominant issues.

In terms of gender, men accounted for 65.1% and women for 34.9% of complaints. While men still filed more complaints overall, the proportion of female complainants has been steadily increasing over the past four years. Women were found to be leading issues mainly related to animal protection and pseudo-religions.

By category, transportation-related complaints were the most common, making up 56.4% of the total. Most transportation complaints involved reports of illegal parking. Excluding these, many complaints called for the extension of the Goyang-Eunpyeong Line and the commencement of the Wirye-Sinsa Line and the Second Gyeongin Line. In addition, complaints were filed in the areas of general administration and safety (7.9%), roads (6.8%), and health and welfare (3.1%).