Anti-Command Shift Petition Announced

On September 29, 227 organizations including Go Sunjin and the New Right Union held a press conference at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, and announced that they will be starting a 10 million person petition to protest against the breaking up of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command.

This “10 million person petition” is an extension of the nationwide 500 person petition campaign to stop discussion on regaining wartime operational command which was started by 11 organizations including the Christian Council of Korea, the Korean Retired Generals Association and the Korean Veterans Association on September 12.

There are 17 co-representatives of the petition campaign including former Defense Ministers Kim Sung-eun and Lee Sang-hoon, Korea Veterans Association Chairman Park Seh-jik, former Minister of Education Lee Myung-hyun and Pastor Kim Jin-hong as well as 33 advisories including former Defense Minister Yoo Jae-heung, former Prime Ministers Lee Hoi-chang and Hyun Seung-jong, former National Assembly Speaker Jang Kyung-soon and Song Weol-joo, a Buddhist priest.

At the press conference on this day, former Minister Kim Sung-eun, former Supreme Court Justice Jeong Ki-seung, former National Assembly Speaker Chung Rae-hyuk, former National Assembly Vice Speaker Jang Kyung-soon, former Prime Ministers Hwang In-seong and Hyun Seung-jong and the chairman of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, Lee Gwang-sun, were present along with 300 members of participating organizations.

The petition campaign headquarters will start at 3:00 p.m. on October 13 in Gwangju and then move throughout six cities: Daegu (October 14), Daejeon (October 15), Busan (October 16), Incheon (October 17) and Seoul (October 18) to unfold its nationwide campaign.

zeitung@donga.com