"Paid 50,000 Won Per Day and Meals to Participants of Gwanghwamun Rally," Controversy Arises Over Blue House Petition Claim

"Claim of Mobilizing Four Tourist Buses in Gunsan, Jeonbuk"

The scene during the 'August 15 Liberation Day Commemoration Rally Condemning the Moon Jae-in Administration' held on the 15th in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Controversy is expected as allegations have emerged that some conservative groups provided meals and money to elderly people during the 'August 15 Liberation Day Commemoration Rally Condemning the Moon Jae-in Government' held in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

On the 28th, a post titled "Punish organizations or individuals who mobilized local people to the rally and spread the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner stated, "According to my mother-in-law living in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, she said, 'If you go to the Gwanghwamun rally, you will be paid 50,000 won per day and provided with food,' so acquaintances around her suggested going to Seoul for sightseeing," adding, "They mobilized four tour buses, which is too organized for an individual to do."

They continued, "Please make sure to punish the individuals or groups who mobilized about 60 buses nationwide and provided daily wages and meal expenses to many people, leading to the nationwide spread of (COVID-19)." As of 4:50 PM on the 28th, the petition had received 5,975 endorsements.

On the 28th, a claim was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board stating that a specific organization provided daily wages and meals to people from Gunsan, Jeonbuk, who participated in the Gwanghwamun rally. / Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture

However, the petitioner did not disclose specific details such as the method of delivering daily wages and meals while raising these suspicions.

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk Province estimates that about 200 to 300 citizens participated in the Gwanghwamun rally. The province recently secured a list of 288 rally participants through searches of mobile carrier base stations and the seizure of bus leaders who departed from Jeonju.

According to the province, these individuals reportedly took chartered buses from in front of a large church in Jeonju to Seoul on the 15th, the day the rally was held.

However, the police stated that, so far, there is no evidence of daily wages being provided to rally participants in Gunsan.

According to a report by 'Yonhap News' on the 28th, the Jeonbuk Police Agency has not received any reports of daily wages being provided to rally participants in Gunsan as of that day. However, they plan to investigate the details by collecting related intelligence.

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