[Suwon = E-Daily Reporter Hwang Young-min ] A petition calling for the resignation of Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae has emerged, just over two months after she took office. This appears to be a backlash stemming from the controversy over the 1.2 billion won official residence—which surfaced after she declared a fiscal emergency—as well as the notification of a 30% cap on provincial subsidies to cities and counties and the suspension of postpartum care expense support.

According to a comprehensive report by E-Daily on the 14th, a post titled “We Petition for the Resignation of Governor Choo Mi-ae,” published on the Gyeonggi Province petition board on the 11th, surpassed 10,000 signatures that day. Under the Gyeonggi Province petition system, if a petition receives at least 10,000 signatures within 30 days of being posted, the governor is required to respond personally.

The petitioner stated, “Gyeonggi Province’s debt-to-budget ratio is approximately 12%, which is lower than the 25% threshold defined by law as a crisis situation,” adding, “Governor Choo forced through a declaration of a fiscal emergency based solely on her subjective judgment that ‘we’ll go bankrupt if things continue this way.’ In this supplementary budget proposal, she carried out expenditure restructuring amounting to a whopping 545.6 billion won.”

They continued, “What is even more shocking is that, while citing a fiscal emergency to cut civil servant incentives by more than half, he personally signed a contract for an official residence—a 47-pyeong apartment with a security deposit exceeding 1.2 billion won—which he uses exclusively by himself.” They argued, “The adverse effects of these excessive budget cuts are gradually coming to light and threatening the daily lives of provincial residents,” and asserted, “We petition for Governor Choo’s resignation before it is too late.”

The petition’s author cited the following reasons why Governor Choo should resign: △Governor Choo’s declaration of fiscal austerity is inconsistent with the current administration’s policy stance of strengthening future preparedness through expansionary fiscal policy △ Limiting the provincial subsidy ratio for city and county projects to a maximum of 30% will severely impact welfare and livelihood initiatives in cities and counties with low fiscal self-sufficiency △ The sudden declaration of fiscal austerity based on independent judgment, followed by cuts to essential welfare budgets.

After Governor Choo declared a fiscal emergency on August 5, Gyeonggi Province notified the deputy heads of 31 cities and counties during a video conference earlier this month that the provincial subsidy rate for city and county assistance projects—which had been between 4% and 50%—would be capped at a maximum of 30%. In this process, the province also stated that for local governments with more robust financial conditions compared to others—such as Seongnam, Yongin, and Hwaseong—it would lower the provincial subsidy rate to as low as 10% for certain projects.

Furthermore, the province decided to limit payments for the postpartum care subsidy program—worth 500,000 won, which had been provided since the administration of former Governor Lee Jae-myung—to families with babies born on or before September 30, sparking controversy over fairness for families with babies born in October, November, and December.

Regarding the controversy over the suspension of postpartum care subsidies, Governor Choo explained on his social media account on the 13th, “The 9th-term provincial administration did not arbitrarily cut Gyeonggi Province’s postpartum care subsidy budget.” He added, “This year’s Gyeonggi Province budget was originally allocated for only nine months. If left as is, it would have been an incomplete budget that would have effectively caused all programs to end in September.” He added, “For programs funded by the national government, such as postpartum care subsidies, I accepted the executive branch’s recommendation that supporting treatment costs for couples struggling with infertility—which would have ended in September under the original budget—takes priority over allocating additional provincial funds.”

The author of the resignation petition criticized, “Just looking at the situation surrounding the abolition of postpartum care allowances, one can see how Governor Choo’s lack of understanding of provincial governance as a whole and his lack of communication pose a fatal threat to the lives of provincial residents,” adding, “The authority held by a public official is like a bamboo fan; in Governor Choo’s hands, it is merely a gentle breeze created by the fan. However, when it reaches the residents, it becomes a storm that destroys everything.”

They continued, “Since he has caused such a blunder just three months into his term, in a year’s time, the reasons for Governor Choo’s resignation will be so numerous that they could fill a booklet even if we were to pare them down as much as possible,” and strongly criticized him, saying, “Governor Choo must acknowledge that he is incapable of taking responsibility for the lives of the 14 million residents of Gyeonggi Province and resign voluntarily.”