The National Petition to the Blue House, also known as the Online Petition to the Blue HouseYoon, Hyung-seok(윤형석) "새로운 국민소통 플랫폼으로서 청와대 국민청원 - 현황과 법제도적 개선방안을 중심으로 -" 법과정책 27.2 pp.82-115 (2021) : 82. or succinctly as the National Petition (), was a South Korean government website that was created as part of the Moon Jae-in administration's political communication effort to address citizen concerns in South Korea. The website was first released to the public on August 19, 2017, on then-president Moon Jae-in's 100th day in office. The website's goal was to establish a platform of direct communication between the government and the people under the philosophy that "the government will answer when the public asks". The National Petition is composed of a system in which government and Blue House officials respond to every petition recommended by more than 200,000 people over a period of 30 days.
Multiple petitions on the website became topics of interest and coverage for mainstream media after gaining tens of thousands of recommendations from other users. Many of these petitions requested changes in South Korean law or a thorough investigation into previously underdocumented criminal incidents.
The website was dissolved along with the end of Moon's presidential term on May 9, 2022.Yoon, Ki-eun(윤기은). '청와대 국민청원' 문 닫았다. Kyunghyang Shinmun. (in Korean). May 9, 2022
History
The online platform was first proposed by Chief Presidential Secretary Im Jong-seok, who believed that just "like the White House... [the presidential office] should also answer the people's petitions." With Moon's approval of the plan, a 'public communication platform' was first established on the Blue House's official website on August 17, 2017, to celebrate the president's 100th day in office on August 19, 2017. A new tab named "People's Communication Plaza" was first introduced, with functions such as discussion rooms, Kookmin Newspaper High School, talent recommendation, and Hyoja-dong Photography Museum. The platform was modeled after the Obama Administration's petitioning website, We the People.
As of 23 February 2018, more than 124,500 postings were posted, averaging 658 daily.
The website was decommissioned by the Blue House on May 9, 2022, at the end of Moon's term as president.세상을 바꾼 국민청원 5년. PRESIDENTIAL ARCHIVES. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration subsequently created the Gungminjean () as a website to replace the National Petition on June 23, 2022.The Blue House. 대통령실, '국민제안' 신설...100% 실명제·책임 처리. 대한민국 정책브리핑. June 24, 2022.
Functions Each petition could be labeled into one of the following 17 categories: Political reform () Diplomacy/Reunification/Defense (외교/통일/국방) Jobs () Future () Growth engines () Rural communities () Health and welfare () Child care/Education (육아/교육) Safety/Environment (안전/환경) Low fertility rates/Aging measures (저출산/고령화대책) Administration () Petting animals () Transportation/Construction/Territory (교통/건축/국토) Economic democratization () Human rights/Gender Equality (인권/성평등) Culture/Art/Sports/Media (문화/예술/체육/언론) Others ()
If a petition received more than 200,000 recommendations over 30 days, official answers from government officials, including ministers and senior secretaries, were given within 30 days. In comparison, The White House's We the People answered petitions that had the approval of 100,000 people over 30 days. However, the National Petition did not require a separate subscription unlike We the People.
In May 2018, an analysis of all 160,000 proposed public petitions, which were submitted until April 13, showed that the most mentioned keywords were "baby," "women" and "policy." The most popular label was "Human rights/Gender equality". Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary for public communication, said that "we(the government) had been able to examine specifically where the will of the people was," and added that the government will continue its efforts to improve the quality of people's lives.
Notable Petitions Law and punishment On May 3, 2017, a petition to amend South Korea's juvenile laws was posted on the website. It became the first petition to obtain an official answer from the Blue House. The petition regarded a middle school group assault case on September 1, in Busan Metropolitan City. The perpetrators of the case were denied criminal punishment, as they were under the age of 14 and were not eligible for criminal punishment by South Korean law. The incident brought public rage, leading to the petition's recommendation from more than 200,000 citizens. On 25 May, Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Cho Kuk announced his position through social media and the official account of the presidential office's website, replying that "it is more important to prevent crime, rather than lowering the age limit." Cho, while saying that the public request has a legitimate aspect, further elaborated that "the issue with protection disposal and victim protection will improve if we(the government) concentrated on improving it for two or three years with determination," and promised governmental effort. On September 6, 2017, a petition including a request for the abolition of laws that reduced criminal sentences for crimes committed under the influence of alcohol and an opposition to Cho Doo-soon's release from prison was submitted to the website. Cho Doo-soon, a convicted felon who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 3rd-grade elementary schoolgirl in 2008, was given a reduced sentence to 12 years in prison as he was drunk and judicially feeble-minded during the assault, and was scheduled for release in 2020. The petition demanded a re-sentencing of his case with life imprisonment. The petition became the third petition to receive an official response, which was also from Cho Kuk. Cho replied that he deeply sympathized with the public anger, but answered that "a retrial of a case can only be claimed on behalf of the benefit of the convict when clear evidence is found that the convict is found to be innocent or a lesser offense." Cho explained that although any law allowing permanent scrutiny of a convicted criminal was abolished after being ruled unconstitutional, additional management at the national level, such as attaching electronic anklets, could take place. Another petition was made on November 4, which requested that any criminal sentence be prevented from being reduced for involvement under the influence of alcohol. Cho Kuk left another reply, saying that "the sentencing standards for sex crimes committed upon victims under the age of 13 have been strengthened," adding that the has been revised so that no sex criminal will receive a reduced sentence just because the perpetuator was under the influence of alcohol. The petition exceeded its benchmark 200,000 recommendations after 63 days from its initial posting and ultimately received more than 610,000 until its expiration in November 5. Similarly, a petition to raise the sentence of underage sexual assault to life became the tenth petition to receive an answer after a case similar to the Cho Doo-soon case took place in Changwon. Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said, "If someone raped a child or a teenager, they can already be punished with life imprisonment under current law." According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of first-term prison terms for sex crimes against children and adolescents increased from 370 in 2009 to 1,304 in 2017 before and after the Cho Doo-soon case, and the proportion of prison sentences to punishment has also increased from 73 percent to 81 percent. He also explained that there were such cases in the past, but that the punishment should not be commuted in cases where people committed sexual crimes under the influence of alcohol. Park also pleaded that the public "trust the government and report the damage" if anyone has been subjected to sexual offense. The answer to the No.9 petition is about 'feminism in Primary and Secondary high school education mandatory'. , senior presidential secretary for public communication in charge of the answer, said, "Although the textbooks are supposed to include gender equality, they lack quantitative and quality, and there is no explicit gender equality," stressing that the breakdown of the situation should precede how real education is conducted and what the school's human rights index is. On whether or not the regular curriculum of integrated human rights education will be included, he said, "We need to conduct various studies on what content to include." "First of all, we will use the Office of Education's budget of 1.2 billion won to develop learning materials. Also, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Office of Education will work together to provide education for adult rights. We can't solve a lot of things in one second, but I want you to know that the government is looking for a step-by-step change," he said. Three responses were answered in a combination of similar personalities: the request for active protection from countries without distinction between men and women; the ban on hidden spy cameras; and the petition for the forced use of nude photos by Yang Ye-won. Police Commissioner Lee Chul-sung and Gender Equality and Family Minister Chung Hyun-baek jointly responded to the petition that more than 400,000 people ask for the protection of a nation unrelated to gender, saying, "I feel a great responsibility as a police chief," adding, "We will make extra efforts to correct the unfairness felt by women." Regarding Yang Ye-won, he also promised swift and stern handling, and said he will push to strengthen the education of police officers to prevent any secondary damage. "The government will work harder until the day comes when women feel safe and do not feel discriminated against by gender," Chung Hyun-baek said, noting that the law is being revised to root out digital sex crimes. 33rd and 34th petition answer, petition to save children who are being sexually harassed and petition to prevent gang violence. Min Kap-ryong, deputy chief of the National Police Agency, was in charge of the answer. In the 33rd petition, the problem was a video clip showing a man having continuous sex with his seven-year-old daughter. Min Kap-ryong said the video was a pornographic piece produced, and promised a swift investigation, although it is difficult to relate to sexual abuse of children. He apologized for the delay in the police investigation and the lack of support for the investigation as the site where the video was uploaded has a server in the U.S. In the 34th petition, a man was hit by a group of eight people in Gwangju, putting him on the verge of blindness, a case in which police were criticized for their passive response. Min Gap-ryong promised to "do his best to ease public anxiety" by setting up an all-out response system and strengthening the role of the 112 general situation room as a control tower to enhance police's on-site response. The 47th and 48th answers were answered by Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Kim Sang-gon, who tied a petition to toughen punishment for underage sexual offenders and repeal of the "Children Act." Regarding the "Children Act," he said that the criteria for 14 years of age, which were created in 1953, were discussed at the pan-government level to lower them to 13 years of age. Related to the sexual assault case among middle school girls, he also introduced related "proposed bills are under legislative discussion at the National Assembly," but said that since juvenile crimes are not resolved only by toughening punishment, efforts should also be made to prevent juvenile crimes and educate juvenile offenders, even if it takes time.