"Request for Emergency Travel Ban on Lee Jae-myung"... Petition Appears on Blue House Website

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, declared his concession to the presidential election defeat in the early morning of the 10th at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] In the 20th presidential election, after an extremely close race, Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, was elected. Meanwhile, a public petition requesting the travel ban of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, has appeared on the Blue House's public petition site.

On the 10th, a petition titled 'Request for the urgent travel ban of Mr. Lee Jae-myung' was posted on the Blue House public petition site.

The petitioner, Mr. A, stated, "Now that the presidential election is over, investigations into the Daejang-dong development corruption and Supreme Court bribery allegations will begin," adding, "Although Mr. Lee Jae-myung (57 years old, with four prior convictions) would of course not commit any crimes, if by any chance he travels abroad due to the disappointment of losing the election, wouldn't the public misunderstand greatly?"

He continued, "As Mr. Lee mentioned himself, he is still young and energetic enough to dance in Sinchon even when there is a wildfire in Gangwon Province," and added, "Even if he receives a 10-year prison sentence and serves hard labor, he would be 67 years old, which is one year younger than Jeong Dong-young, whom he reinstated to the Democratic Party."

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Capture

Mr. A said, "Such a young and valuable national asset going abroad and possibly being kidnapped by an international criminal organization would be a great loss to the country," and added, "Moreover, unlike some irresponsible political couples who can have grade 5 or 7 public officials serve them like servants at taxpayers' expense, if Mr. Lee Jae-myung and his family go to a foreign land far away, how much hardship would they endure?"

He also urged, "The government should proactively issue a travel ban order on Mr. Lee Jae-myung and his family to prevent various situations in advance."

The petition met the requirements by receiving more than 100 endorsements in less than a day after being posted and is currently under review by the administrator. It has been set to private for review regarding its official disclosure.