"Choo Mi-ae's Son's Leave Extension Requested by Aide Calling the Military"

Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Investigates Unit Personnel as Witnesses Regarding Choo's Son's Military Service

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is attending the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on the 25th of last month, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] It has been reported that one of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's aides during her time as a member of the National Assembly directly called the military unit where Choo's son, Seo Mo (27), was serving to request an extension of his leave.

According to materials obtained by Shin Won-sik, a member of the Future United Party, a military unit official A, who was in charge during Minister Choo's son's active duty, recently appeared as a witness at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office investigating the 'military leave non-return' suspicion case.

During the prosecution investigation, A reportedly testified, "On June 21, 2017, during a unit solidarity event (a soccer match), a person identifying themselves as 'a Choo Mi-ae lawmaker's aide' called and asked, 'Private Seo's leave is about to end, but since he wants to rest and recover at home rather than outpatient treatment or hospitalization, can it be processed as sick leave?'"

At that time, A responded, "According to regulations, resting at home cannot be processed as sick leave," and after reporting the matter to superior B, he received instructions to "process it as 'personal leave' since sick leave is difficult according to regulations." Consequently, Minister Choo's son Seo took four days of leave under the name of 'personal leave.'

Seo, who served as a KATUSA private, took sick leave twice from June 5 to 14 and June 15 to 23, 2017. Although he was originally supposed to return to the unit on June 23, instead of returning on the scheduled date, he stayed outside the unit for an additional four days from June 24 to 27 under the name of personal leave.

During this process, testimonies from fellow soldiers emerged stating that a captain from a higher unit came to the duty office and said he would personally handle the leave extension, raising suspicions that 'external pressure might have been applied' to extend Seo's leave. According to Army regulations, to take sick leave, a diagnosis or a military doctor's opinion must be submitted to the unit and reviewed.

There were also suspicions that the basis for Seo's sick leave was not clearly recorded. During summons and investigations of unit officials from March to June, prosecutors asked related questions, and A reportedly testified, "There are only records of the four days of personal leave used, and no sick leave remains," adding, "The commander verbally approved the sick leave, and it was only an administrative omission that no records remain."

Meanwhile, Minister Choo denied the allegations related to her son's leave non-return case at the Ministry of Justice ministerial confirmation hearing in December last year, stating, "There was no external pressure, and it was sick leave due to knee pain, not leave." She claimed that her son, who had knee pain before enlistment, obtained sick leave for surgery and extended his leave with the military's understanding during the recovery treatment process.

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