▲ Petition demanding Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae leave her party
Gyeonggi Province has concluded public feedback regarding a provincial resident petition demanding Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae leave the Democratic Party of Korea, stating that the matter is excluded from official petition subjects.
The petition in question previously met the threshold for a gubernatorial response after garnering more than 12,000 signatures within three days of being posted.
According to Gyeonggi Province on September 17, after a resident petition titled "Governor Choo Mi-ae, please voluntarily give up your party membership" was uploaded to the official website on September 15, the number of endorsements grew to 12,680 by the afternoon of that day.
Petitions that receive 10,000 or more endorsements during the 30-day feedback period require a direct response from the governor.
The petitioner pointed out, "We can no longer overlook the current situation where the governor, responsible for the metropolitan local government with the largest population in South Korea, is excessively intervening in central politics while leaving Gyeonggi Province behind," adding, "The most fundamental duties of a governor are to look after the lives of Gyeonggi residents, secure the province's budget, and stably manage welfare and people's livelihoods."
The petitioner further urged, "We urge you to voluntarily abandon your party membership and be reborn as a governor exclusively for the residents of Gyeonggi Province," and demanded, "Return to provincial administration and channel the capacity you spend on political remarks and self-politics into securing the Gyeonggi budget and stabilizing public livelihoods."
In response, Gyeonggi Province stated, "According to the petition operation standards, matters requiring high-level political judgment are excluded from the targets," and concluded the public feedback that evening.
Previously, a petition titled "I petition for the resignation of Governor Choo Mi-ae," posted on September 11, exceeded 30,000 endorsements in five days. Gyeonggi Province responded with the statement, "We express deep regret over the distortion of facts as if livelihood budgets were intentionally cut," and prematurely ended the public feedback.
Given that petitions surpassing 10,000 endorsements typically continued to receive additional feedback for 30 days, this was an unusual measure, sparking criticism that it might be blocking residents' freedom of expression itself.
(Photo: Capture of Gyeonggi Provincial Government website, Yonhap News)
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