Three civic groups have submitted to the National Assembly a petition seeking to designate “Hunminjeongeum,” the original manuscript of the Korean alphabet Hangeul, as the nation’s number one national treasure.
 
Ahead of presenting the petition, the three groups that work to protect Korean cultural assets, held a news conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday. They said that Sungnyemun Gate was designated as the number one national treasure simply because the Japanese governor-general had designated the gate as the top treasure in 1934 during Japan's colonial occupation of Korea.
 
The groups cited that the Board of Audit and Inspection had recommended in 2005 that the number one designation be scrapped, but the recommendation was turned down by the Cultural Properties Committee out of concerns the move could cause confusion.
 
The groups said they hope that a treasure designated by the South Korean people and not the Japanese governor-general will become the key asset that represents the nation.
 
The head of the Committee for the Return of Cultural Property, Venerable Hyemoon, told reporters that the groups had worked hard to submit the petition as the first to be received by the 20th National Assembly. He said he believes there is no reason for lawmakers to oppose the petition.