Petition Calling for Resignation of Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae Surpasses 10,000 Signatures in Four Days
Petitioner Says “Declaration of Fiscal Emergency and 546.5-Billion-Won Spending Restructuring Inappropriate”
Petition Against Abolishing Postnatal Care Subsidy Also Surpasses 10,000 Signatures... Governor Choo: “Budget Shortfall Was Unavoidable”
A petition by Gyeonggi Province residents calling for Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae’s resignation surpassed the official 10,000-signature requirement for a formal response within just four days of being posted. Amid ongoing backlash over Gyeonggi Province’s stringent fiscal austerity, controversy regarding provincial administration continues to spread.
According to the Gyeonggi Province petition website on September 14, the petition titled “We petition for the resignation of Governor Choo Mi-ae” exceeded 10,000 participants around 5:30 p.m. on this day. It reached this milestone just four days after it was posted on September 11.
The petitioner argued that, based on financial analysis by the Fiscal Soundness Task Force, Gyeonggi Province’s fiscal status could not be conclusively described as an immediate crisis. Nevertheless, the petitioner claims that Governor Choo unilaterally declared a “fiscal emergency” based on her subjective judgment and implemented spending restructuring amounting to 546.5 billion won in the recent supplementary budget.
The petitioner also raised concerns that, while citing the fiscal emergency, Governor Choo made cuts such as reducing civil servant incentives, but simultaneously signed a contract to use a 47-pyeong apartment as an official residence with a deposit exceeding 1.2 billion won. The petitioner demanded Governor Choo’s resignation, stating that the side effects of fiscal austerity were already evident.
Gyeonggi Province’s petition system requires that once 10,000 participants sign a petition, the governor must issue an official response. Accordingly, Governor Choo is required to respond to the petition within 30 days.
This is not the first backlash over Gyeonggi Province’s fiscal austerity. Previously, when Gyeonggi Province announced it would end a postnatal care subsidy program, a petition opposing the decision also garnered over 10,000 participants.
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Governor Choo explained the inevitability of the budget arrangement via her social media on the previous day. She stated, “This year’s budget was only drawn up for nine months from the beginning, and there was no money left to fill the three-month gap,” adding, “We could not allow school meals for children or support for people with disabilities and vulnerable groups to be halted.”
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