Hong Moon-pyo "Choo Mi-ae's Non-disclosure of Indictment? Arbitrary and Disgraceful Act"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is answering reporters' questions as she arrives at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 5th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] Hong Moon-pyo, a member of the Liberty Korea Party, criticized Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae's decision to keep the indictment related to the 'alleged election interference in the Ulsan mayoral election by the Blue House' confidential, calling it "very autocratic and despicable behavior."

On the 7th, Hong appeared on YTN's "Noh Young-hee's Start of a New Morning" and said, "Minister Chu Mi-ae demanded this (the indictment) during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye regarding the Choi Soon-sil scandal, and based on this, the impeachment began. At one point, she presented this as a political act, but now that she is a minister, she says this is not acceptable," expressing his criticism.

Minister Chu, during her time as the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea in November 2016, mentioned the indictment of a figure involved in the state affairs manipulation scandal who named former President Park Geun-hye as an accomplice on her Facebook, pointing out that Park was a "joint principal offender and the leading suspect in the crime."

There were criticisms that Minister Chu's stance on whether to disclose the indictment had changed, but she stated, "(The former President Park case) falls under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, whereas this case (the election interference allegation) is a criminal trial, so they are unrelated."

Hong said, "Legal experts and conscientious individuals such as Assemblyman Geum Tae-seop and former Daegu High Prosecutor General So Byung-chul, even within the ruling party, agree that this is wrong," adding, "She uses everything when necessary but makes excuses while in office. Assemblywoman Kwon Eun-hee said, 'It's something a dog would laugh at,' which shows how despicable Minister Chu's actions are."

When Seol Hoon, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "There have been many suspects who suffered human rights violations due to the public disclosure of allegations in indictments, so the decision not to disclose was made, and therefore Minister Chu should not be blamed," Hong retorted, "Why is Minister Chu wielding this sword now? It needs to be corrected."

He continued, "Where else can you find this case, which involves the Blue House's seven ministries jointly targeting Kim Ki-hyun? Our National Assembly should see it, but not showing it and telling us to look at it during the trial is an overreach of authority by the minister," he added.

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