Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae speaks during a suicide prevention event in Gyeonggi on Sept. 14.GYEONGGI-DO
A petition calling for Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae’s resignation has drawn more than 10,000 signatures following her declaration of a “fiscal emergency” in the province in August.
Choo has been in office for just 75 days.
The petition, titled “We petition for Gov. Choo Mi-ae’s resignation,” was posted on Gyeonggi’s public petition website on Friday. It had received some 10,900 signatures as of 5:50 p.m. on Monday — just three days since being posted.
A petition that receives at least 10,000 signatures within 30 days requires a response directly from the governor within 30 days of reaching the threshold, according to the Gyeonggi government’s petition rules.
“Gyeonggi is nowhere near a fiscal crisis by the numbers,” the petition read. “Its debt ratio is about 12 percent, less than half the legal crisis threshold of 25 percent — a conclusion backed by the Democratic Party’s own fiscal analysis. Yet Choo declared a ‘fiscal emergency,’ effectively branding the province bankrupt, and slashed 546.5 billion won [$400 million] from the latest supplementary budget based on her own judgment.”
The petitioner also accused Choo of hypocrisy over her own spending. The province signed a 1.22 billion won lease for a 47-pyeong (1,670-square-foot) apartment unit near the provincial government complex as her official residence and recently purchased a 77 million won Hyundai Ioniq 9 EV as her official vehicle.
“The side effects of these excessive budget cuts are emerging one after another and threatening residents’ daily lives,” the petition continued. “Before it is too late, I petition for Gov. Choo Mi-ae to resign.”
A petition posted on Gyeonggi's official petition website on Sept. 11 calls for the resignation of its governor Choo Mi-ae.SCREEN CAPTURE
The petitioner argued that Choo’s austerity drive also runs counter to the central government’s policy of using expansionary fiscal measures to strengthen Korea’s ability to prepare for the future.
“A proposal to cap the provincial government’s share of funding for city and county projects at 30 percent would deal a severe blow to welfare and livelihood programs in municipalities with weaker finances,” the petitioner said.
The petition emphasized that necessary welfare programs are being forced to close due to the “fiscal emergency.”
“Gov. Choo abruptly declared a crisis based on her own judgment and is indiscriminately cutting even welfare programs that residents depend on,” the petitioner wrote. “The recent move to scrap postpartum care subsidies alone shows how her lack of understanding of provincial administration and refusal to communicate can pose a serious threat to residents’ lives.”
The petitioner demanded that Choo voluntarily resign immediately.
Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties in Gyeonggi’s provincial legislature have pushed back against the spending cuts and restored funding for projects that Choo had sought to reduce.
Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae declares a fiscal emergency during a press conference on the province’s financial situation at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government in Suwon, Province, on Aug. 5.NEWS1
“The [new] Gyeonggi administration is doing everything it can to prevent essential programs affecting people’s livelihoods from being suspended,” Choo said on Monday. “I deeply regret attempts to distort the facts by portraying this administration as deliberately cutting perfectly sound budgets for essential public services.”
Choo said Gyeonggi’s 2026 budget, drawn up last year, provided only nine months of funding for essential public services.
“A significant number of essential programs, including school meals and long-term care for older adults, would stop beginning in October unless we find new funding,” Choo said.
She added that the previous Gyeonggi administration had already tapped municipal bonds, various funds and internal resources. That has left the province with “almost no options to raise additional funds.”
“We are working to close the immediate funding gap while urging the central government and the National Assembly to pursue fundamental solutions, including tax reform, so the same crisis does not happen again,” Choo said. “I ask residents for their understanding of the fiscal situation facing Gyeonggi. I will do everything I can until the end to protect residents’ lives and overcome this fiscal crisis.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
