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The We the People petition platform

After Koreans signed a petition asking the US to cancel plans to deploy the THAAD antimissile system in South Korea, the White House responded that it “is working [. . .] to deploy this system as soon as feasible.”

The We the People petition platform hosted on the White House website sent an email on Oct. 2 containing this response to people who had signed a petition to “rescind the decision to deploy [the] THAAD antimissile system in South Korea.”

“Under President Obama, the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have worked to strengthen our alliance, which helps ensure a peaceful, secure, and prosperous future on the peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region. A key part of our alliance includes strong support from the United States in defense of the ROK,” the response said.

“In addition to the nuclear tests North Korea conducted in January and September of this year, North Korea performed multiple ballistic missile tests that directly violated several UN Security Council Resolutions. These provocative actions highlight the grave threat these actions pose to the peace and security of the entire Asia-Pacific region,” the White House said.

“In February of this year, in response to the growing threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, the United States and the ROK began discussions to consider deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system [. . .] in order to improve the missile defense posture of the US-ROK Alliance. Because of North Korea‘s continued provocations and refusal to engage in serious negotiations on denuclearization, the United States and ROK jointly decided to deploy THAAD as a purely defensive measure on July 8.”

“The THAAD battery will be focused solely on countering the North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile threat,” the White House said. “It will not undermine China’s or Russia’s strategic deterrent. The United States is working with the ROK to deploy this system as soon as feasible in order to more safely defend our ROK Ally and US military personnel deployed to the region from the North Korea nuclear and ballistic missile threat. This decision reflects our ironclad commitment to defend our South Korean allies, especially in the face of the North Korean ballistic missile and nuclear threats.”

According to the We the People website, which is operated by the White House, the White House must make an official response within 60 days to any petition that collects at least 100,000 signatures in the month after it is posted. This petition was posted on July 15 and passed 100,000 signatures on Aug. 10. The White House posted its response on Oct. 9.

The petition against THAAD was initially proposed by the Coalition of Koreans in America, a Washington-based group, and it was reportedly uploaded to We the People by Hyuk-kyo Suh, vice president of the National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA).

The petition that the Korean-Americans uploaded to the website to urge the US government to scrap its plans to deploy THAAD reads as follows: “The US and South Korean governments, against wide opposition of South Koreans (and strong subsequent backlash from local citizens of the deployment site [in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province]), have agreed to deploy [the] US-made THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) system in South Korea. This measure is supposedly [meant] to counter North Korean ballistic missiles and provide additional security, yet this is a controversial move that [is] likely to escalate tension in the region, by provoking North Korea, China and Russia into a spiraling arms race in the region that is already heavily militarized with weapons of mass destruction. Now, more than ever, is the time to step back and de-escalate tensions by pursuing negotiated settlements that will provide [a] sustainable peace mechanism in the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding region.”

By Park Soo-jin, staff reporter

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