"Moon Resembles Chinese President" vs "Support for the President"... Blue House National Petition 'Counterstrike'

President Moon's Counter Petitions for 'Support' and 'Impeachment'

President Moon Jae-in is attending a meeting with local market vendors and small business owners at Dongdaegu Station in Daegu on the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] The number of signatories to a Blue House petition calling for the impeachment of President Moon Jae-in over inadequate response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surpassed 900,000 on the 27th.

Meanwhile, a petition supporting President Moon gained over 300,000 endorsements within just one day of being posted. The opposing petitions surrounding President Moon regarding the COVID-19 situation are becoming increasingly heated.

As of 7:04 a.m. that day, the petition titled "We Support President Moon Jae-in!" had received 376,930 endorsements. Having met the Blue House response threshold of over 200,000 signatures, the Blue House is required to issue a response within a month.

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Capture

This petition was posted on the Blue House website's national petition board on the 26th.

The petitioner began, "All citizens are going through a difficult time due to COVID-19. However, the President and all government departments of the Republic of Korea are tirelessly exerting every effort day and night to eradicate the virus for the health of the people."

He added, "Due to the spread of the virus by the cult Shincheonji, confirmed cases have rapidly increased within a week. Despite government requests for cooperation, Shincheonji remains silent. Even under these adverse conditions, the President is working day and night solely for the safety of the people."

He continued, "Numerous fake news reports are making things difficult for the President and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but countless citizens of the Republic of Korea trust and support President Moon Jae-in. The Republic of Korea with President Moon Jae-in will surely overcome this situation."

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Capture

On the other hand, the petition titled "We Urge the Impeachment of President Moon Jae-in," posted on the 4th, had over 900,000 endorsements as of the 27th. As of 7:04 a.m. that day, it had received 920,980 signatures.

The petitioner claimed, "The more I see President Moon Jae-in's response to the COVID-19 situation, the more it feels like watching the president of China rather than the president of the Republic of Korea. Masks have surged in price by more than tenfold and remain out of stock, making it difficult for citizens to purchase masks. Yet, the President has provided 3 million masks to China and has taken no measures regarding the soaring mask prices."

He said, "As the President of the Republic of Korea, shouldn't the most important priority be 'protecting our own citizens'? If he truly cared about his people, he should have banned entry from all regions of China. We can no longer just watch. We urge impeachment."

Meanwhile, a petition demanding President Moon's impeachment also gained over 200,000 endorsements in April last year.

At that time, the Blue House responded, "According to the Constitution, the impeachment of the President is a matter decided by the Constitutional Court following a motion by the National Assembly," and added, "We ask for your understanding that, based on the principle of separation of powers, the government finds it difficult to respond to such petitions."