Petition for Governor Choo Mi-ae's Resignation Surpasses 10,000... Gyeonggi Province: "No Deliberate Cut in Welfare Budget"

Controversy is growing as a provincial petition calling for the resignation of Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae surpassed the official response threshold of 10,000 participants just three days after it was posted. Gyeonggi Province stated that the claim suggesting the essential welfare budget was deliberately cut is not true, and that the province is making every effort to fill the fiscal gap.

On the evening of September 14, Gyeonggi Province spokesperson Hong Eun-gwang explained during a briefing on the petition for the governor's resignation, "The 2026 essential welfare budget for Gyeonggi Province, which was allocated last year, only covered nine months. Without securing additional funds, many essential welfare programs, including school meal provision and long-term elderly care, could be halted starting in October."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Chu Mi-ae held a press conference regarding the financial status of Gyeonggi Province at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office on August 5. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

He added, "In 2025, Gyeonggi Province issued local government bonds for the first time in over 20 years, and the issuance amount reached 99.6% of the available limit. As a significant portion of various funds and internal resources have already been utilized, there is virtually no additional fiscal capacity left to mobilize."

He continued, "The 9th Gyeonggi administration is making every effort to prevent the suspension of essential welfare programs. Nonetheless, we deeply regret attempts to distort the facts, as if Gyeonggi Province deliberately cut a properly allocated welfare budget."

Gyeonggi Province is working not only to address the immediate fiscal gap but also urging the central government and the National Assembly to pursue fundamental measures such as tax reform in order to prevent a recurrence of this kind of crisis.

Spokesperson Hong added, "We ask for residents’ deep understanding regarding the current fiscal situation facing Gyeonggi Province. We will do our utmost to protect the livelihoods of residents and overcome the fiscal crisis."

Previously, on September 11, a petition titled "We Petition for the Resignation of Governor Choo Mi-ae" was posted on the Gyeonggi petition website. As of 5:30 p.m. on September 14, the petition surpassed 10,000 participants.

On the Gyeonggi petition website, if the number of participants exceeds 10,000, the petition becomes subject to an official response from the governor. Accordingly, Governor Choo must respond to the petition within 30 days.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.