"Why Is the Questioning of Chu Mi-ae's Son's Allegations Blocked?" Ruling and Opposition Parties' 15-Minute Heated Debate Leads to Judiciary Committee Breakdown

United Future Party "If Disadvantaged, Opposition Questions Denied... Virtually a Tyranny"
"Report to the People on Suspicions Regarding Chu Mi-ae's Son Around 10 AM on the 2nd"

On the afternoon of the 1st, during a plenary meeting held in the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting room, Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice (center), is conversing with Choi Jae-hyung, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Cho Jae-yeon, Chief of the Judicial Administration Office. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] On the 1st, at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, ruling and opposition party members clashed over a current affairs inquiry regarding Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae.

Judiciary committee members from the United Future Party requested a current affairs inquiry into allegations that Minister Choo's son failed to return from military leave during his service, but Yoon Ho-jung, the committee chairman from the Democratic Party, rejected the request saying, "It is not on today's agenda," and then adjourned the meeting. Afterwards, the United Future Party judiciary members moved to another location to hold an emergency press briefing, calling it "virtually tyranny" and stating, "We will provide a detailed briefing tomorrow."

On that day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee convened a plenary meeting to deliberate on the approval of the 2019 fiscal year settlement and the expenditure of contingency funds. After approving the agenda, the committee was about to adjourn, but Kim Do-eup, the United Future Party's judiciary committee secretary, requested a current affairs inquiry on issues including Minister Choo's son and the audit of the Wolseong Unit 1 nuclear power plant.

However, Chairman Yoon said, "You should have requested this in advance," and added, "There was no prior consultation or request between the party secretaries. Please do it next week," refusing to accept the request.

Despite this, a heated exchange occurred between Kim and Baek Hye-ryun, the Democratic Party secretary, and Chairman Yoon declared an adjournment just 15 minutes after the plenary meeting began, saying, "Consult between the secretaries."

On the 1st, at the Judiciary Committee plenary meeting held in the National Assembly, Kim Do-eup, the floor leader of the United Future Party (left), is protesting to Yoon Ho-jung, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee (right), about the conduct of the meeting. In the center is Baek Hye-ryun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. / Photo by Yonhap News

Afterwards, judiciary committee members from the United Future Party moved to the committee's small meeting room and held an emergency press briefing. They protested, saying, "We prepared a current affairs inquiry after approving the settlement bill at today's plenary meeting, but the committee chairman deprived us of the opportunity to question," calling it "an unacceptable act and virtually a tyranny."

Kim said, "Looking at the way Chairman Yoon and Secretary Baek operate the judiciary committee, they act unilaterally when it suits them, but when the situation is unfavorable or disadvantageous, they even deprive opposition members of the opportunity for current affairs inquiries," emphasizing, "Current affairs inquiries are not a matter of agreement between the ruling and opposition parties."

He added, "Even though I asked Secretary Baek to give me a chance for a current affairs inquiry, she categorically said no and left the room," and said, "It seems today's meeting will not be reconvened."

The United Future Party plans to announce additional confirmation details related to allegations that Minister Choo's aide requested an extension of her son's leave by phone at a press conference on the morning of the 2nd. Kim said, "There will be something to report to the public around 10 a.m. regarding the allegations about Minister Choo's son," adding, "There are additional confirmations and preparations for a complaint."

Meanwhile, according to the office of Shin Won-sik, a member of the Future United Party, on the 31st of last month, A, a unit official during Minister Choo's son's active duty, recently appeared as a witness in the investigation into the allegations of failure to return from leave.

According to the office, A testified during the prosecution investigation that "On June 21, 2017, during a unit solidarity event, a person who identified themselves as 'a secretary to Representative Choo Mi-ae' called," and "At that time, the aide asked if it was possible to process sick leave so that Minister Choo's son could rest and recover at home instead of outpatient treatment or hospitalization, as his leave was about to end."

In response to this request from the aide, A replied, "According to regulations, resting at home is not allowed," and reported the matter to superior B, who then instructed, "Since sick leave processing is difficult, handle it as 'personal leave,'" according to reports.

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Regarding this, Representative Shin pointed out, "The first and second sick leaves (19 days) were effectively unauthorized leave and desertion without any basis such as a leave order," and said, "There is no record material whatsoever to support the so-called first and second sick leaves (19 days) among the total 23 days of leave taken by Minister Choo's son at that time."

He added, "The regional commander ignored sick leave regulations and procedures, arbitrarily judged, received a phone request from a close aide of the highest-level public official, the mother, granted an additional 4 days of personal leave in advance, and processed the administrative procedures afterward, which is suspected to be an illegal preferential leave," emphasizing, "Minister Choo should now confess the truth about the public suspicions raised against herself and her eldest son."

However, Minister Choo has completely denied these allegations, stating, "There is no such fact."

At the plenary meeting of the Budget and Accounts Special Committee held at the National Assembly on the 1st, in response to a question from United Future Party member Park Hyung-soo about reports that a person claiming to be Minister Choo's aide requested her son's leave by phone, she replied, "(Regarding the allegation of her son's failure to return from military leave) If I comment, it could affect the investigation, and what the questioning member says could also influence the investigation atmosphere," adding, "If investigated, the truth will be clearly revealed."

When Park asked, "Did you give such instructions through your aide at that time?" she retorted, "Would an aide receive instructions to handle such personal matters?"

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