Questions/Answers

The role of local government is essential in generating inclusive and sustainable development. As the layer of government which is closest to the people, local government is best placed to be highly responsive to and to advocate for people’s needs. Local government could help drive countries’ success in achieving the SDG’s on tacking poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation. The Government or Republic of Korea fully recognized the critical importance of local governance and has established a system through which citizens can submit petitions requesting their local councils to enact, revise, or abolish bylaws, and thus empowering citizens to directly engage in n autonomous legislative activities. It is called the “System for Citizens to Request Establishment, Revision, or Abolition of Municipal Ordinances” (Hereinafter referred to as “SCRE”) . For a petition to be accepted, a minimum number of signatures are required. The difficulty in satisfying this requirement constitutes as the main barrier for citizens to use the system as people on the street will only sign petitions when they could enough time to gain a good understanding of the content. That’s why only 223 petitions were submitted between 1999 and 2016. Even if it is possible to sign only on the streets, the participation system can be operated sufficiently, but it was desirable to provide more opportunities for participation. This initiative aims to enable people to sign petitions both on the street and electronically. This initiative empowers citizens to engage in the decision-making process of local governments, improve access to justice, and facilitate building the effective, accountable and inclusive public institutions at local level(SDGs’ Goal16). Effective citizen participation at local level also fosters the balanced regional developmant and reduces inequality nationwide (Goal 10)

The role of local government is essential in generating inclusive and sustainable development. As the layer of government which is closest to the people, local government is best placed to be highly responsive to and to advocate for people’s needs. Local government could help drive countries’ success in achieving the SDG’s on tacking poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation. The Government or Republic of Korea fully recognized the critical importance of local governance and has established a system through which citizens can submit petitions requesting their local councils to enact, revise, or abolish bylaws, and thus empowering citizens to directly engage in n autonomous legislative activities. It is called the “System for Citizens to Request Establishment, Revision, or Abolition of Municipal Ordinances” (Hereinafter referred to as “SCRE”) . For a petition to be accepted, a minimum number of signatures are required. The difficulty in satisfying this requirement constitutes as the main barrier for citizens to use the system as people on the street will only sign petitions when they could enough time to gain a good understanding of the content. That’s why only 223 petitions were submitted between 1999 and 2016. Even if it is possible to sign only on the streets, the participation system can be operated sufficiently, but it was desirable to provide more opportunities f

Local autonomy is to empower residents to resolve the problems facing their communities on their own, and the policies for resolving such problems are established through laws and ordinances. The fact that residents can now participate directly in the creation of legislation means they can also influence the drafting of policies to address the problems of their local communities. In this respect, the SCRE is highly effective, as it grants citizens the right to make decisions on policies through petitions. The problem is that it is difficult for citizens to secure the minimum number of signatures required to submit petitions on the street only. So, it is necessary to revitalize citizen participation. This initiative aims to establish a system that allows residents to find information on ordinances online and sign petitions with digital signatures, which is common in financial transactions. This initiative could effectively enhance administrative transparency and revitalize citizen participation by addressing the barrier of securing minimum number of signatures. To ensure equal access and uniform participation for all citizens in strengthening local governance, the central government operates the system for use by all local government to engage there local citizens in consultation and policy-making process.

This initiative doesn't directly address specific agendas, such as poverty eradication; however, it does provide citizens with more opportunities to directly influence policy drafting toward the realization of particular agenda goals. This empowers and promotes the social inclusion of all citizens, irrespective of sex, physical or mental capabilities. It also ensures an equal opportunity and reduces inequality of outcome through various means, including the elimination of discriminatory laws and practices and promoting appropriate policies, and actions. This initiative contributes to providing the access to justice for all and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels of government. Not only promotes constitutionalism by allowing citizens’ opinions to be incorporated into the laws or and institutions of local governments but also expands and ensures citizen participation in the decision-making process. As the all information related to the legislative process is disclosed publicly, the system also increases citizens’ access to such information on the legislative process.Citizen participation enhances citizens’ responsiveness to policies. Since the vitalization of petition submission is proof of low responsiveness of elected representatives to the problems of their constituents, it would force elected representatives to be more responsive to the people’s needs.

The reason SCRE’s low usage rate is the requirement of a certain number of citizens’ signatures, and it can on the street only. Only organizations of a certain size Can easily acquire the required number of signatures, while general public struggle to do so. The system presents difficulties for local governments. It requires the residents of Seoul to acquire a minimum of 80,000 signatures to submit a petition. All signatures must be checked to identify any invalid ones, which is a major task that the respective local government must undertake using the information provided by the signatories. The electronical SCRE, improves all the flaws of the existing system, which involves gaining signatures through street-level interactions, as all information is provided through the Internet and the entire process, from confirming the identification of citizens to managing their signatures, is conducted in a completely transparent way. The representative democracy of local governments in Korea allows room for disagreements between the will of the people and the will of politicians. Citizen’s active use tthis system implies that local government’s responses to citizens’ demands were inadequate, urging local councils to wake up and assume more responsibilities on administrative affairs.

This initiative has had an impact on 40.59 million Korean nationals aged 19 or older as well as foreigners aged 19 or older who have lived in Korea for more than three years, who are able to sign petitions. These people have access to standardized information and can participate in the system they live in. By doing so, the initiative ensures their access to information and ease of participation. This initiative benefits a wide range of people, including those who are not affiliated with any particular social group. For instance, one major social group benefiting from this system is mothers who are struggling with the burden of childcare, as they can share their grievances online. Going beyond such grievance sharing, the system gives them the power to have daycare centers, toy libraries, and safe playgrounds built in their communities. This initiative will result in nationwide dissemination of municipal ordinances designed to serve and protect marginalized citizens. For example, Jeollanam-do has enacted an ordinance to allow elderly residents of mountainous areas without bus access to take taxis at a price of only 10 cents per ride. In this way, this initiative will let residents have a direct impact on the enactment of ordinances so as to correct any inequalities in their communities and contribute to realizing the SDGs.

This initiative does not involve introducing any innovative technologies or systems; nor does it involve blockchain or AI technologies or require a huge budget or best researchers. It simply combines the existing 20-year-old system with the widely used digital signatures to provide citizens with a more convenient way of using the current system to create new values. This shows that the technologies most beneficial to us are not necessarily the best or most innovative or cutting-edge technologies, but those best suited to our current needs. This initiative is also innovative in that it is faithful to the basic principle of increasing citizen participation through electronic means. The defining characteristic of this system is how it reduces the constraints on citizen participation by introducing an electronic element. This initiative could thus be an excellent example of “e-democracy.” Various forms of e-democracy are currently being discussed around the world, including in Korea, but no substantial progress has yet been made. However, as this initiative grants legal effect to and allows policymaking through the opinions of citizens expressed via electronic means, it is more innovative than other e-democracy initiatives. Moreover, it contributes to achieving the goal of SDGs, increasing citizen participation and expanding access to justice for all.

As this initiative improves the existing system by allowing citizens to participate electronically, it cannot be claimed that this initiative is completely original. However, it is innovative in that it allows the opinions of each and every citizen to be expressed electronically and have legal effect in the public arena. In short, although all its components were part of existing projects in the private and administrative arenas, this initiative is innovative in that it brought those elements together to advance the use of citizens’ digital signatures and increase the efficiency of confirming citizens’ identities.

The most important resource for this initiative was government officials who are authorized to operate the system. This was particularly true at the time when the initiative was first envisioned. At the time, we had no funding or material resources, except for a 10-year-old data server. The initiative began with about USD 3,000 that was allocated for the operation of a different system. This was a small budget, considering that Korea spends millions of dollars on the operation of its e-government systems. At that time, we began working with the Korea Local Information Research and Development Institute (KLID), which develops and manages information systems related to local governments, in an effort to solidify our ideas. Aiming to create the simplest yet most effective system, we decided to work with a software engineer from the KLID. We discussed the sharing of data with bureaus that hold resident registration information through the government-run administrative information sharing system as well as the use of the national network. Based on the results of discussions, we were able to establish the technological foundation for a stable operation of the electronic system, which was finally launched in January 2018. It was also necessary to establish the legal basis for carrying out this initiative. From November 5, 2017, the government undertook an effort to revise the Enforcem

Yes

There are no cases where the system was introduced in other regions. Korea, however, operates a variety of systems to display own. We were inspired by these institutions. There are some systems that give legal effect to individual opinions. In Korea, shareholder’s meeting is guaranteed to be done electronically. There is also a system for communicating their opinions to public institutions. The country or states can collect opinions from residents through the Internet. This system is active in Korea. Citizens can also file an electronic petition to the Blue House, the nation's top administrative authority. However, in the public field, there was no case of legal effect on individual opinion. This is also true of other regions. This system is very scalable in that it can be applied to other participation programs. In Korea, various resident participation programs such as recalling a local government head and inspecting local government are operating. If they can also get their signatures electronically, it will be a more efficient system. It was developed as a module so that it could be applied to various resident participation schemes.

The most important characteristic of social development in Korea is the expression of diverse opinions and decentralization. Korea has recently been seeing a greater number and variety of people expressing their opinions on social issues. Due to the high interest in solving problems in local communities, the level of response among residents has been quite remarkable. And the government’s most important agenda is carrying out decentralization and increasing public participation in policymaking.This social background has a positive impact on expanding citizen participation, which is the main goal of this initiative. While the purpose of the system is to contribute to enhancing citizen participation, it is citizens’ will to participate that serves as the basis for the system’s operation and development. Through this cycle, the vitalization of citizen participation will make the operation of system sustainable. Korea makes active use of Internet-based technology, and such technologies are widely accepted by the Korean people in daily lives. Most citizens are thus able to acquire information through the Internet and express their opinions online. Tech-savvy Koreans who are adept at utilizing electronic means make Internet-based systems including this initiative more sustainable. From an economic perspective, this system is highly sustainable. Now that the construction and installation work, the most expensive part of the project, has been completed, all that is necessary for the operation of the system is a minimum operating budget from the central government, which can be secured without difficulty. In addition, the system is highly sustainable in terms of its operational environment. Only the digital signatures of citizens processed through this system are granted legal effect, as designated by the central government through presidential decree. This means that the operation of the electronic system is essential to run the SCRE.

In general, electronic systems cost a lot in the initial setup phase, not in the operation phase. This system will be sustainable with a minimal maintenance budget, with the exception of supplementary measures such as the development of a mobile application. This means that the operation of the electronic system can be maintained using only a small portion of the government’s budget for the operation of its e-government systems, which has already been secured. This initiative will therefore not be interrupted due to a lack of budget. Since the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act has laid the necessary institutional groundwork, the sustainability of this initiative is extremely high, unless the government takes unlikely steps to restrict the rights of citizens and suppress citizen participation. As noted earlier, there is a strong interest in political participation in Korea, particularly in local communities. The greater the convenience of participation, the more people will participate. This virtuous cycle serves to strengthen the sustainability of the initiative in terms of citizen response. Expanding the direct participation of citizens is the policy goal that all administrative and political systems should pursue. This method of expanding citizen participation using electronic means can be applied to any system of any country, as long as a firm legal foundation is established first. A versatile system is scalable and can therefore be sustained and expanded in conjunction with any kind of citizen participatory system. Taking this into consideration, we made the system modular so that it can be applied to all systems that require citizens’ signatures, which is expected to have a positive impact on the sustainability and development of the initiative. In the information system, which is the key component of this initiative, problems such as heavy traffic can arise. To prevent this problem, we have decided to use a cloud system from May 2018

Yes

The operational achievements of the initiative have not yet been evaluated to determine whether it has contributed to improving the quality of people’s lives. However, the idea itself was recognized in the planning process. After competing with 80 other policy-related ideas in the 2017 E-Government Awards of the Republic of Korea, this initiative won the Ministerial Award from the Minister of the Interior and Safety (December 2017) for its ability to promote direct democracy in an economical way.

The E-Government Awards of the Republic of Korea are awarded to e-government or intelligent government service ideas that have great potential to help improve public services, administrative processes, and people’s lives using ICT. The electronic SCRE was granted the Ministerial Award from the Minister of the Interior and Safety, which is given to the third best idea for a public service that is expected to increase the convenience of people’s lives.

Ideas were evaluated in two categories: written documents (50 percent), in terms of the ideas’ purposiveness, creativity, feasibility, and potential for application and expansion; and supplementary materials or presentation (50 percent). The purposiveness section evaluates whether the submitted idea for how to improve an e-government system or create an intelligent government service would revolutionize administrative processes and increase the benefits of the people. Creativity assesses how different and unique the idea is compared to existing services. Feasibility measures whether the idea could be implemented as a system and whether the problems that could arise in the implementation process and their solutions are clearly identified in the submitted documents. The potential for application and expansion evaluates whether the idea, when implemented as a concrete system, could be applied to and used in other parts of the government. These indicators are used to conduct a qualitative evaluation of the submitted ideas.

This initiative was developed entirely by government officials. The Local Legislation Division of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is in charge of all processes, including current situation analysis, system design and realization, and establishment of the legal basis and processes. The KLID is in charge of the technical aspects of this initiative. Established to carry out regional informatization projects intended to strengthen the information environment of local governments, the KLID has been providing technical support since the initiative’s development phase. In addition, Resident Service Division of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety which is in charge of resident-related systems and information, and the Public Information Sharing Division, which takes charge of creating linkages between administrative databases, both provided substantial support. Above all, however, the people of the Republic of Korea who dedicated their valuable time and effort to engaging with citizens on the street in order to secure the signatures needed to submit petitions through the existing system over the past 20 years are the most important participants in this initiative. The people of the Republic of Korea have not only worked hard to realize the implementation and operation of the system but also actively participated in the public competition to name the initiative and create the website domain (www.ejorye.go.kr).

First of all, this initiative taught us what it means to bring about innovation in the administrative domain. Most people think innovation requires substantial amounts of money and talent, which turns out to be not true. Although innovation is often achieved based on specialized knowledge possessed by a limited number of people, it can also be realized by knowing how to combine pre-existing technologies or ideas. Apple, the company that started an IT revolution, did not create iPhones out of thin air—it combined existing wireless communications, LED display, and touchscreen technologies. Likewise, we do not need new systems or technologies to achieve innovation in the public sector; we need to think of new ways to combine existing systems and technologies. One benefit of achieving innovation by combining existing systems and technologies is that it avoids the shocks inevitably accompanying the introduction of completely new and unfamiliar systems. Familiarity does not mean a lack of innovation. In administrative reform, adoptability is an important consideration. This initiative has also taught us that institutional improvements can contribute to increasing the spontaneity with which citizens receive and use administrative services, leading to greater citizen participation. It is clear that institutional improvement is secondary to eliciting citizen participation, and that no m