Female rights issue questioned most in online petition website

By Park Ji-won

Since the introduction of the online petition system on Aug. 17 last year, the number of petitions asking for a response from the government about female rights issues was the largest.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, 50 petitions on the website were able to gather over 200,000 signatures within 30 days of posting; the minimum number to get a response from the presidential office. High ranking officials have answered 46 already, while preparing answers for three remaining ones - two petitions were combined. Some 700 petitions are uploaded online every day on average, more than half of them asking for a revision to laws and regulations.

With regard to female rights issues (20 percent of the total), most asked for stronger punishment for violence against women, followed by the introduction of mandatory education about feminism up to high school - from elementary school. They also called for the reopening of cases of rape and sexual harassment.

Other petitions focused on better rights for children and animals.

The petition that attracted the most signatures was about a revision to laws on refugee seekers. It called for rescinding the no-visa provision for people from several countries, and followed the mass influx of refugees to Jeju Island this year. It had 714,875 signatures by July 13.

The website has attracted a lot of attention, particularly when a petition is able to draw a large number of supporters, sometimes setting the news agenda of the day, as it urges the government to change a regulation.

Some are critical, saying the website can be misused to waste the time of governmental officials because people who use the site maliciously. However, those running the website say that it is a useful space for people to vent their anger.

Other say that the active participation by citizens, especially in the fields of female rights, shows the site is allowing the weak to have a voice to speak about their interests.

“There was no space where the socially weak could express their interests; and even though half of the population is women, they haven't been treated properly. Accordingly, they are doing so in groups,” Lee Jun-han, a political science professor at Incheon National University said.

He pointed out that not only Cheong Wa Dae but other government organizations and even the National Assembly should make similar efforts to communicate with the people.

“It is part of a logical communication between the people and the government. There are some things that the president cannot do such as making a law, for example. The Assembly would be able to ask the people what they want in its online petition system.”