Hong Jun-pyo: "I Even Had the Powerful Minister's In-Law Arrested... Why Is the Investigation into Choo's Son Being Delayed Like This?"

Hong Jun-pyo "I Arrested the Minister of Justice's Relative During Jeon Du-hwan Era"
People Power Party on Chu Mi-ae's Son Allegations: "Smells of Collusion Between Prosecutors and Police... Special Prosecutor Must Be Appointed"

On the afternoon of the 23rd of last month, Hong Jun-pyo, an independent lawmaker, is giving a greeting at the National Defense Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the allegation that Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice, failed to return from military leave, Hong Joon-pyo, an independent lawmaker, criticized prosecutors on the 6th, saying, "Behave like prosecutors."

On the same day, Hong posted on his Facebook, "The issue of Minister Choo's son's desertion could be concluded with just a week of investigation, so I find it hard to understand why the prosecutors have delayed it for eight months," he said.

He added, "The prosecutors' indecision is probably not due to the complexity of the case, so I find it difficult to understand why this issue is causing such a stir in South Korea," and said, "The country’s legal order is upheld when prosecutors stand firm. Because South Korean prosecutors behave like this, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is gaining strength," delivering a sharp rebuke.

Hong also recalled an anecdote from his early days as a prosecutor. He said, "At that time, there was a powerful Minister of Justice who was so influential that he was summoned to the Blue House at night by former President Chun Doo-hwan to handle major cases," and "There was an incident where prosecutors arrested the Minister of Justice’s only in-law on a Saturday night for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act."

He continued, "Of course, on Monday morning, the prosecutor’s office was in an uproar when the Minister of Justice’s wife visited the chief prosecutor and caused a commotion. I was very embarrassed, but fortunately, the chief prosecutor did not reprimand me," he recounted the situation.

Hong added, "That in-law was detained and indicted for a full 20 days, and I was transferred to the Ulsan branch office. After that, it is said that the in-law’s misbehavior disappeared in Cheongju," he added.

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is delivering a greeting at the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on the 1st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the People Power Party demanded the appointment of a special prosecutor, criticizing the sluggish prosecution investigation into the allegation that Minister Choo’s son, Mr. Seo, failed to return from military leave.

Members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee stated in a press release on the 6th, "There is growing suspicion that the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office omitted testimony from a unit official who said they spoke with Minister Choo’s aide from the witness statement," adding, "There is a smell of collusion between power and prosecutors. We must no longer entrust this unprecedented military discipline scandal to prosecutors who turn a blind eye to power."

They continued, "It has already been over eight months since the prosecution began an investigation into a very simple case that requires no account tracing procedures," and raised their voices, saying, "Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol must appoint a special prosecutor as soon as possible."

However, Mr. Seo, the son of Minister Choo, maintains that there is no legal issue regarding the 'failure to return from military leave' allegation.

On June 2nd, Seo’s lawyers from the law firm Jeongsang, Lee Jae-jin and Lim Ho-seop, stated, "Seo received a diagnosis at the Republic of Korea Army Yangju Hospital that surgery was necessary according to sick leave regulations and submitted all the required documents for the sick leave application," emphasizing this point.

Meanwhile, Seo took his first sick leave from June 5 to 14, 2017, while serving in KATUSA and underwent right knee surgery at Samsung Seoul Hospital. Afterwards, he applied for a second sick leave of nine days starting June 23, but because he was not sufficiently recovered, he inquired about extending the sick leave with his superior. He then took four days of personal leave and returned on the 27th.

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