[Courtesy of Blue House]
President Moon Jae-in's soaring popularity was reflected in a recent Blue House petition. Hundreds of people are urging the government to sell president's wrist watches which were originally designed to be presidential gifts.
"Feelings of loss and despair are swept through South Korean citizens as public figures show off their wrist watches presented by the president," said an anonymous Facebook user through the witty petition. "Some people find hard to concentrate on their everyday lives because of the feelings."
Since president Moon took office in May, many public figures including journalists and celebrities have uploaded photographs of the watches, making some people jealous.
[A screenshot captured from Blue House website]
The Facebook user pressed that the government should sell more items related to the president: "More items, including the watches, should be sold as tools of unification and for public benefits. It would be perfectly alright if the profit made from the items is processed transparently." Currently, 857 people have participated in the petition and the number is steadily increasing.
The Blue House recently unveiled new designs for the presidential set of watches for men and women, showing a minimalist concept, inspired by the president's political philosophy and to eliminate authoritative designs of former presidential watches. With Moon's catchphrase "People First" engraved on its back, rose gold was applied to a presidential emblem of a pair of phoenixes instead of gold.
The tradition of handing out wrist watches dates back to Roh Tae-woo, an ex-army general who served as president from 1988 to 1993. Because the watches are only presented through special events and occasions, they are extremely rare.
President Moon's soaring popularity has led to a recent sell-out of commemorative stamps issued by the national postal service. The stamps marking the 100th day of the president's inauguration were sold out in hours when it was sold at local post offices two weeks ago.
A former human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist, Moon, 64, took office on May 10 to succeed jailed ex-president Park Geun-hye who was ousted for her role in a corruption scandal. His approval rating has been high always above 70 percent.
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