[Interview] How White House petition seeking cancellation of THAAD decision met 100,000 signature goal

Posted on : 2016-08-12 13:35 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Koreans living in the US and South Korea mobilized against THAAD system that undermines efforts for peace
Hyuk-kyo Suh
Hyuk-kyo Suh

“I was actually shocked myself. Back when I was starting the White House signature campaign to demand the rescinding of the decision to deploy THAAD, I thought it would be tough to reach 100,000 signatures.”

This was the response shared in a telephone interview on Aug. 10 by National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) vice president Hyuk-kyo Suh, 56, after launching a signature campaign on the US White House petition site We the People on July 15 to demand cancellation of the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula. The site is designed so that if a particular petition earns over 100,000 signatures within a month, the US government must give an official response within 60 days. The deadline for Suh’s campaign was on Aug. 14 - but the number of signatures has already passed 100,000 on Aug. 10.

“I got the idea for the White House petition after talking about THAAD with other Korean-Americans who are concerned about the situation on the Korean Peninsula and want peace,” Suh explained.

“The idea may have been suggested in the US, but a lot of Seongju residents and other South Koreans have taken part,” he added. “It’s thanks to that that we passed 100,000 signatures, so the real driving force ultimately came from South Korea.”

 National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) vice president
National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) vice president

Suh went on to say the result “shows people’s feelings that the THAAD deployment issue needs to be decided not unilaterally by the South Korean government, but based on careful discussions and comprehensive determinations.”

“To join a White House petition, you have to enter your email address, and each person can only do that once,” he explained.

“You have to go through several procedures to prevent spam. It’s not difficult, but it isn’t easy,” he added. “It shows you just how sincere the people who signed are.”

First established during the Barack Obama administration, the White House petition campaigns were initially designed so that the US government gave a formal response once 5,000 signatures were passed, but the “barrier” was raised to 100,000 when a flood of petitions resulted. Reaching a total of 100,000 signatures is no mean feat.

“I didn’t see the THAAD deployment as helping achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. Instead, I thought it was a measure with greater potential to make things worse,” Suh explained on his reasons for starting the campaign.

“It seemed like it might start up an arms race among the major powers and make the Korean Peninsula peace issue more difficult to resolve. It felt like we were crossing a bridge of no return,” he said.

Suh also said that “Korean immigrants like myself had hoped in the past that peace could be established through national reconciliation efforts like the July 4 Joint Statement [of 1972], the June 15 Joint Declaration [of 2000], and the October 4 Declaration [of 2007] or the Six-Party Talks for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

“We felt like the THAAD deployment was going in the exact opposite direction.”

Suh went on to say, “A petition campaign isn’t going to change US policy overnight, but since it does reflect feelings in South Korea, maybe the US administration will regard it as an element in its policy considerations.”

He also explained why his entry on the White House petition page shows only the initials “H.S.”

“I registered under my real name, but it came out as initials. All people who submit petitions are represented by initials,” he laughed.

Suh is also planning to demonstrate against THAAD in front of the White House on Aug. 13 with the Coalition of Koreans in America and other Korean-American groups.

Suh is a US citizen who immigrated with his family as an elementary school student in the 1970s. He has been regularly active with NAKA, which was formed to protect the interests of Korean-Americans in the wake of the Los Angeles riots of 1991. He also works to share messages with the US government and Congress on the need to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Related stories