"Just a Question to Pick a Fight" Choo Mi-ae Clashes Head-on with Opposition Lawmakers Consecutively

Clashes During Government Questioning on Education, Society, and Culture on the 22nd and 24th

On the 24th, Gwak Sang-do, a member of the Future United Party, engaged in a heated exchange with Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae during a government-wide questioning session on education, social, and cultural issues at the National Assembly plenary session. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae clashed repeatedly with members of the United Future Party during the National Assembly’s government questioning sessions. On the 24th, Minister Choo engaged in a heated exchange with United Future Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, and on the 22nd, she exchanged loud words with lawmaker Kim Tae-heum of the same party. The verbal battles between Minister Choo and the United Future Party lawmakers soon escalated into jeers from both ruling and opposition members, marking the start of the 21st National Assembly’s government questioning with loud voices and harsh language.

During the government questioning session held on the 24th, Minister Choo had a head-to-head confrontation with United Future Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do. When Kwak asked, "What do you think about Professor Jeong Gyeong-shim, who said 'My goal is to buy a building in Gangnam'?" Minister Choo responded, "Professor Jeong did not say that," and retorted, "Are you blindly trusting media reports?"

Kwak countered, "It was on YTN," to which Minister Choo replied, "Don’t you acknowledge that there are many fake news reports in the media?" Kwak then asked, "Should we fact-check even the president’s words?" Minister Choo pointed out, "Comparisons should only be made when there is a causal relationship," and added, "You’re not trying to pick a fight with me through your questions, are you?"

As their verbal exchange continued, jeers such as "Stop it" and "What kind of attitude is that for a minister?" erupted from both ruling and opposition seats. Eventually, Kwak said, "You keep attacking the person asking questions," and told her, "Don’t question me during the questioning session; please leave."

Minister Choo glared at Kwak for about five seconds and then said, "If there are no more questions for me, I will leave," before exiting.

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

The tense standoff between Minister Choo and the United Future Party lawmakers also unfolded during the first government questioning session held on the 22nd. On that day, lawmaker Kim called on Minister Choo to question whether the draft statement from the Ministry of Justice was leaked to Representative Choi Kang-wook of the Open Democratic Party.

Lawmaker Kim pointed out that the draft statement contained the legal term 'sumyeongja' (executor), suggesting speculation that Representative Choi might have been involved in drafting the statement. This was because it was a word Choi frequently used, but Minister Choo had never used it.

In response, Minister Choo said, "You should ask questions where a logical causal relationship is established; it’s not that I never use the word 'sumyeongja'."

She added, "I often use words like 'command' and 'order.' Why shouldn’t I use such words? I am the top supervisor," and explained, "The Prosecutor General clearly used the term 'sumyeong' to mean that he follows the minister’s orders."

The verbal exchange between the two reached its peak when lawmaker Kim mentioned Minister Choo’s son while questioning the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s sexual harassment allegations.

Kim asked, "The minister strongly said not to touch the issue of her son anymore. Shouldn’t the same strong measures be taken against the secondary perpetrators as with the issue of her son?" Minister Choo responded, "It doesn’t seem appropriate to connect this case with my son," emphasizing, "There are boundaries in questioning."

As the argument intensified, loud voices such as "Do you know what you’re talking about?" and "Why is the Speaker staying silent?" erupted from both ruling and opposition seats. Eventually, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug intervened to mediate.

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