[Summary] Choo Mi-ae "So what is your point?" Kim Tae-heum "Did you come out to fight?"

Kim Tae-heum's Question on 'Son's Personal Information'... Chu Mi-ae "There Are Limits to Questions"
Ruling and Opposition Seats Shout "Speak with Knowledge", "Why Is the Speaker Silent?"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is attending and responding to the government questioning on politics, diplomacy, unification, and security held at the National Assembly plenary session on the 22nd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 22nd, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae engaged in a heated exchange with Kim Tae-heum, a member of the Future United Party, during the National Assembly's government questioning session. As Minister Choo and Representative Kim exchanged words resembling a verbal battle, members of the United Party jeered, and members of the Democratic Party of Korea responded in kind, marking the first government questioning session of the 21st National Assembly with loud voices and harsh remarks from the start.

During the political, diplomatic, unification, and security government questioning session held at the National Assembly that afternoon, Representative Kim, who took the floor as a questioner, called on Minister Choo to inquire about suspicions that Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, was involved in the recent Ministry of Justice statement.

Regarding Representative Kim's claim that the legal term "sumyeongja," referring to a person who receives a legal order, was evidence of a leak, Minister Choo responded, "Representative Kim should ask questions where a logical causal relationship is established. It's not that I never used the term 'sumyeongja.'"

Minister Choo added, "I often use words like 'order' and 'command.' Why shouldn't I use such words? I am the highest supervisor." She further explained, "The Prosecutor General must obey the minister's orders, which is why I clearly used the term 'sumyeong' (obeying orders)."

Despite this, when Representative Kim pressed again, Minister Choo strongly retorted, "So what if that's the case?" In response, Representative Kim raised his voice, saying, "Why do you keep trying to argue? Did you come here to fight?" Minister Choo countered, "Please refrain from questions intended to embarrass me."

Representative Kim also questioned the sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, asking, "Minister, you have always taken a firm stance against sexual crimes. When you were party leader, you said you would be on our side. But why are you silent as the minister in charge?"

Minister Choo replied, "If the case moves to the prosecution stage and I receive a report, I will be able to speak then."

Representative Kim further asked, "Minister, you strongly told others not to touch the issue regarding your son anymore. Shouldn't you also respond strongly to secondary victims, just like with your son?" Minister Choo responded, "It seems inappropriate to connect this case with my son. There are boundaries in questioning."

Kim Seong-won, the senior deputy floor leader of the United Future Party (center), is protesting to Speaker Park Byeong-seok about Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's attitude during her response to questions from Kim Tae-heum, a member of the United Future Party, at the National Assembly plenary session on the 22nd regarding politics, diplomacy, unification, and security.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As the verbal exchange between Minister Choo and Representative Kim continued, loud voices such as "Speak only about what you know," and "Why is the Speaker staying silent?" were heard from both ruling and opposition seats. When Representative Kim said, "The state of the country shows fairness and justice have collapsed. That's why impeachment was even pursued," Minister Choo countered, "Isn't that an abuse of power by the opposition?"

As the heated exchange and loud voices from both sides persisted, Speaker Park Byeong-seok eventually intervened. He told Minister Choo, "Since the questions are asked by members representing the people, it is desirable to respond politely to the entire nation."

He also addressed Representative Kim, saying, "Questions should be asked not as a member of a political party but as an institution representing the people, so please maintain the position of a constitutional institution."

Meanwhile, on the same day, when Democratic Party member Park Beom-gye asked Minister Choo about her thoughts on the so-called 'prosecutor-media collusion case' audio recordings, she replied, "I felt a sense of self-disgust upon hearing the harsh words calling me a 'mere minister' from a high-ranking official, the Prosecutor General."

Regarding Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who is under investigation for the 'prosecutor-media collusion' allegations, she stated, "Once the investigation is over, we will begin an internal inspection. The Prosecutor General falls under the Ministry of Justice's inspection authority after being assigned to the Judicial Research and Training Institute."

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