Gyeongju City Withdraws Support Plan for Japanese Sister and Friendship Cities... Public Backlash Continues

Announcement of Protective Equipment Support to Sister and Friendly Cities in Japan on the 20th
Criticism Spreads... Petition to the Blue House for 'Mayor's Dismissal'
Plan Canceled for 3 Other Local Governments Besides Already Sent Areas

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongju City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, which has been receiving public backlash for sending COVID-19 prevention supplies to some regions in Japan, has canceled its planned support for other sister and friendship cities.

On the 20th, Gyeongju City announced through a press release that it had provided 1,200 sets of protective suits and 1,000 protective goggles each to Nara City and Kyoto City, Japan, both of which are exchange cities celebrating the 50th anniversary of their sister city relationship.

After this became known, criticism against Mayor Ju Nak-young surged mainly on the mayor’s social media. A petition to dismiss Mayor Ju was also posted on the Blue House’s national petition site, and as of the morning of the 25th, just three days later, 63,000 people had agreed.

Considering this public opinion, Gyeongju City reportedly canceled the shipment of protective supplies to the remaining friendship cities in Japan on the 24th. This decision was made under Mayor Ju’s directive on the 21st, when the criticism began to spread.

Gyeongju has maintained mutual exchanges with five cities in Japan, including sister cities (Nara and Obama), friendship cities (Usa and Nikko), and an exchange city (Kyoto). In particular, Nara City signed a sister city agreement with Gyeongju in 1970, marking its 50th anniversary this year. According to Gyeongju City, the delivery of protective supplies was also a mutually beneficial support effort to commemorate this special half-century milestone.

A representative from Gyeongju City’s International Cooperation Team emphasized, "Nara City and Kyoto City share a special relationship as Buddhist-centered tourist cities similar to Gyeongju’s regional environment," and explained, "Although there were practical consultations about providing protective supplies to other regions, these were canceled considering the public opinion situation."

Meanwhile, Gyeongju City was the first local government in the country to share its COVID-19 prevention experience with 21 cities in 11 countries, including overseas sister, friendship, and exchange cities. In Kyoto City, Mayor Ju Nak-young’s encouragement video message and Gyeongju’s COVID-19 response casebook were introduced on Kyoto City’s official YouTube channel and the World Historical Cities Federation website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.