More than 170,000 persons (as of 9:00 p.m. on July 9) have participated in a citizens’ petition to the Blue House (photo) against the holding of Queer Festivals. An average 6,800 persons have signed each day, and if 30,000 more signatures are received by the petition deadline (July 14), they will get an official response from the Blue House.
This past June 14, a petitioner surnamed Kim placed on the Blue House homepage a citizens’ petition titled “We are against the holding of Queer events on Dongseong-ro in Daegu and at Seoul Plaza in Seoul,” thus expressing opposition to the upcoming Queer Festival to be held at Seoul Plaza this July 14.
“I’m not against gays holding events, but I can’t accept the abnormal and obscene contents,” Kim said. “Whether the participants are gay or normal, such perverted, obscene displays should not be allowed in a plaza that is the citizens’ place of rest and recreation.”
The petitioner included a link to the homepage of the United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care, which warns that participants in gay parades may be infected with venereal diseases such as hepatitis A and syphilis. Kim Ji-yeon, representative of the Association of Next Generation School Parents Setting Things Straight, said, “Considering the many illegal elements in the Queer Festivals, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Daegu Jung-gu Administrator Ryu Gyu-ha could easily have rejected them according to the regulations…But since Mayor Park and Administrator Ryu have ignored citizen opinion, we have resorted to a Blue House petition. We hope the Blue House will issue a response that matches the feelings of wholesome citizens.”
Reporter Paek Sang-hyun (100sh@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Original Article in Korean:
동성애 퀴어축제 반대 국민청원 17만명 넘었다: “변태적이고 외설적 행사, 휴식 공간인 광장서 열리면 안돼” 청원 시작 후 매일 6800명꼴 서명
Citizens’ Petition Against Queer Festivals Signed By More Than 170,000
2018-07-10 15:16
