A government proposal to legally mandate people to hoist the national flag for the upcoming Independence Day was scrapped on Monday after liberals accused it of being overly controlling.
Every year on March 1, South Koreans have traditionally raised the national flag, or Taegeukgi, outside their homes to observe the anniversary of the nation’s independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
The ratio of homes and schools that continue this tradition, however, has been dwindling, according to the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs.
In an apparent attempt to pivot back to the old patriotic days, the ministry recently suggested legislating a law that made the practice a requirement.
In the same proposal, the ministry also said it would require students to submit pictures to prove that they’ve been obliging and encourage citizens to report homes that failed to keep up.
The news was met with liberal opposition, its key argument being that the policy was a bit too “Big Brother.”
“I guess the government has resorted to patriotism-mongering after all else has failed,” Baek Chan-hong, a committee member of the Ssial Foundation, said on his Twitter page.
The approval rating for President Park Geun-hye has recently hit a record low of 29 percent amid public backlash over a series of policy blunders.
Park had also come under fire previously for being too controlling of people’s lives — much like her father, Park Chung-hee, whose iron-fist rule of the country embittered the public toward government regulation.
The proposal was eventually dropped after related government agencies stepped in. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the government has decided not to pursue the proposal further due to differing opinions.
“It also backtracks from our policy to ease regulation,” the transport ministry said. (Yonhap)
