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Paju’s response to our e-People petition asking to shut down their dog farms

Application No.: 1AA-2012-0190852
Application Date: 2020-12-07
Request to Paju, South Korea, to take administrative action against illegal dog farms.
파주시에 불법 개농장, 개도살장 행정처분 시행과 즉각적인 폐쇄를 강력히 촉구합니다.

👎🏼 Shameful Paju government wants us to do their job. See below for our response.

📌 Please note: The South Korean government continues to deceive us with lies and excuses. Click HERE to learn more.


[Paju City Hall] We need evidence on the acts of violation of the dog farms. (the exterior pictures of a dog farms or animal abuse etc…)

From: Cho Min-Ho “조민호”
Dec 9, 2020, 6:49 PM
to Koreandogs.org (plus 15 more petitioners)

Thanks for interesting in our civil administration.

We need you to prepare the evidence on the acts of violation of the dog farms, the evidence like the exterior pictures of a dog farms or animal abuse etc…

According to Korean Law of the Method of Public interest Whistelblowing

Article 8 (Method of Public Interest Whistleblowing)

(1) Any person who intends to file a public interest whistleblowing case shall submit a statement in writing (including electronic documents. Hereinafter referred to as the “written report”), with attachment of evidence on the acts of violation of the public interests to any person in the Article 6 Subparagraphs. The statement shall include the information described in each of the following Subparagraphs:

1. The name, resident registration number, address, contact numbers, etc. of the whistleblower;

2. The name of the person who violated public interest;

3. A factual description of the violation of the public interest;

4. The purport and reason of the public interest whistleblowing.

(2) Notwithstanding Paragraph 1, in the event that there are specific circumstances wherein a written report cannot be submitted, an oral statement may be presented in its stead. In this case, evidence, etc. shall be submitted as well.

Article 10 (Processing of Public Interest Whistleblowing Case)

(1) The examination agency, either upon direct receipt of a public interest whistleblowing case or receipt of a public interest whistleblowing case transferred from the Commission, shall conduct necessary examination about the details thereof.

(2) The examination agency may not launch or may discontinue the examination if the public interest whistleblowing case falls under any of the following Subparagraphs:

1. If the contents of the public interest whistleblowing case are clearly deemed to be false;

2. In the event that the personal information of the public interest whistleblower is not available

3. In the event that the public interest whistleblower fails to supplement his/her written report or supporting materials within a preset period after receiving at least two requests to do so;

4. If a public interest whistleblower reports again, without any justifiable reason, a case for which he/she had already been notified of the processing result thereof;

5. In the event that the contents of the public interest whistleblowing case were publicized through the mass-media, etc., and that there was no new evidence other than the facts that had already been disclosed;

6. In the event that an examination into the violation of the public interest had already begun or had already been completed in accordance with some other Act(s) and subordinate statute(s);

7. In the event that there is no reason for examination as prescribed by Presidential Decree.

So, We need evidence on the acts of violation of the dog farms. You can prepare the evidence like the exterior pictures of a dog farms or animal abuse etc…

You should submit those pictures about evidence on e-mail by 18:00, friday, Dec 11th, 2020 (Korean Time)

If we can’t get the evidence by the time limit, We will send e-mail to you one more.

Response from Paju.

Civil Petition Results
organization in charge
경기도staff in charge 조민호contact 031-940-4593
processing date 2020-12-16
result 1. 파주시정 발전에 협조해주시는 귀하께 감사드립니다.
2. 귀하께서 국민신문고를 통해 신청하신 민원 신청번호 1AA-2012-01908528에 대한 검토 결과를 다음과 같이 알려드립니다.
3. 공익신고자 보호법 제10조2항제3조에 의거하여(공익신고자가 신고서나 증명자료 등에 대한 보완 요구를 2회 이상 받고도 보완 기간에 보완하지 아니한 경우) 종결처리함을 알려드립니다. 끝.
Attachment


We responded as below:

To: City of Paju,

We reject the assertion here that public interest whistleblowing applies specifically to the issues raised in our petition. It is well documented that laws and regulations related to both; how food waste may or may not be used/repurposed (in agriculture) and the minimum requirements for animal welfare (whether in intensive agriculture or not). This issue is out of scope for public whistleblowing as the whistle has already been blown by ours and many NGOs and other concerned citizens. It is now up to the local government to investigate compliance with local laws and regulations.

The terms and conditions upon which the e-People petition service operates clearly states that a person may file a petition with the Korean Administrative Agencies regarding the requirement that such administrative agencies take action on other matters such as the lack of enforcement of existing laws.

We have raised our petition with many local government constituencies, and the majority of these have provided a full written response to the issues raised in our petition (although we disagree with the basis on which their responses were made). We ask why is Paju different from other constituencies on this issue. Why is Paju asking that citizens and not civil service officials working for the government be tasked with inspecting and obtaining such evidence?

We believe that Paju has erred in its response to our petition and that it is right down to local government officials and the police that they should be required to monitor compliance and enforce the law. The local government is responsible for inspecting each facility and taking action against any violation of laws or civil codes.

If you are not familiar with your country’s laws regarding the illegality of the dog meat industry, please refer to this information: 개식용 종식을 위한 법규 안내집이 발간되었습니다!
https://www.ekara.org/activity/against/read/7537

  1. Catharina Pedersen
    Catharina PedersenDecember 12,20

    Please, stop This cruel business

  2. Sheila Glover
    Sheila GloverJune 29,21

    This is a complete cop-out of their responsibilities. The Paju Government knows exactly what is going on. Their so-called need for evidence from ‘whistleblowers’ is fatuous and a means only to avoid the issue. Shame on them! They are deceiving the people who pay their wages and should all be removed from office. The evidence is there for the world to see yet these shameful officials pretend they do not see it. They are cowards who have no honour.

  3. Jane
    JaneJuly 14,21

    I have had the same response to my e-People petition and as you suggested have used your wording to respond back. I have also sent emails with English and Korean as per your suggested text on:
    https://koreandogs.org/paju-illegal-dog-auction-house/
    Thank you for all your efforts for the animals.

    • KoreanDogs.org team
      KoreanDogs.org teamJuly 14,21

      Thank you, Jane!!

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