Operation of the Petition Review Committee and Establishment of Online Petition System... 'Petition Act Enforcement Decree' Draft Approved at Cabinet Meeting

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] To enhance the objectivity and fairness of petitions, which are fundamental rights of the people under the Constitution, petition review committees will be established and operated in each institution, and an online petition system will be built to allow petitions to be submitted online.

On the 14th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the Cabinet meeting approved the draft enforcement decree of the Petition Act with these contents. The Petition Act was enacted in 1961, but there were no detailed procedures for handling petitions, and since no enforcement decree had been prepared, there were criticisms that citizens faced limitations in exercising their right to petition.

This draft enforcement decree of the Petition Act is a follow-up measure to the full revision of the Petition Act last year, aiming to prepare matters delegated by law and necessary for the enforcement of the law. The main contents of the draft enforcement decree include ▲ the composition and operation of petition review committees ▲ preparation of regulations related to petition handling ▲ establishment of an online petition system ▲ introduction of public petitions.

First, to enhance the objectivity and fairness of petition handling starting from December 23 this year, each institution will form and operate a petition review committee. Each petition institution must establish a petition review committee composed of 5 to 7 members, including one chairperson, with a term of office of 2 years, and at least one-quarter of the members must be external experts.

Next, regulations related to petition handling will be prepared to ensure petitions are processed objectively and fairly. The head of the petition institution must notify the petitioner of the progress of petition receipt, transfer, decision on disclosure, and handling. If the petitioner receives a notification of unsuitability for disclosure of a public petition or if the processing period has elapsed, they may file an objection.

Starting from the end of next year, methods for online petitions will be prepared, and an online petition system will be established by December next year. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has allocated a budget of 3.1 billion KRW to build a system that can handle everything from petition receipt to result notification integrally, planning to design it by the end of next year and implement it from December 23 next year.

Additionally, regarding public petitions to be enforced from December 23, standards for deciding disclosure and methods for collecting opinions will be prepared. Matters related to amendments of laws and ordinances or the operation of public systems and facilities can be petitioned publicly (public petitions), and public petitions must collect public opinions through the online petition system and submit them to the petition review committee meetings.

Meanwhile, along with the enactment of this enforcement decree of the Petition Act, the enforcement rules of the Petition Act, which stipulate forms necessary for petition submission, receipt, decision on disclosure, and notification of handling results, will also be enacted.

Han Chang-seop, Director of the Government Innovation Organization Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “Through the enforcement decree of the Petition Act, which is being established for the first time, we expect that citizens will be able to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to petition more conveniently.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.