[Comprehensive] People Power Party Launches Fierce Attack on Choo Mi-ae's Son's 'Favoritism Allegations'... "Resign Immediately," "A D?j? Vu of Cho Kuk"

Kim Jong-in "Choo's 'Mommy Chance' is a Destruction of Rule of Law"
Joo Ho-young "Choo, Decide Whether to Appoint Special Prosecutor or Resign"
Ruling Party "Opposition's Offensive is Excessive", "Not a Matter for Special Prosecutor"

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]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As allegations of preferential military leave for Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, Seo Mo, spread mainly in the political sphere, on the 7th, the People Power Party called for Minister Choo's resignation and demanded the appointment of a special prosecutor targeting Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who had been on the defensive following Minister Choo's exercise of investigative command authority.

Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said at the emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly that day regarding Seo's military leave allegations, "This is Minister Choo's 'Mom Chance,'" adding, "The public watching this preferential imperial military service feels like a d?j? vu of the 'Dad Chance' that undermined the fairness of education during the Cho Kuk incident last fall."

He continued, "This matter cannot be dismissed as merely a parent's misguided love for their child," and defined it as "an unconstitutional and antisocial crime where the then ruling party leader used power to violate the constitutional duty of national defense and trample on the value of fairness."

Then, Chairman Kim emphasized, "The Minister of Justice must immediately resign in relation to this. Keeping the current minister in place itself is a contempt and destruction of the rule of law."

Regarding the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office's investigation into Seo, Chairman Kim pointed out, "The deliberate delay in investigation, omission of the aide's phone call records, and the promotion of responsible prosecutors as a reward reveal the distorted face of prosecutorial reform aimed at covering up the Minister of Justice's illegalities and corruption."

He added, "The Prosecutor General must immediately appoint a special prosecutor to conduct a neutral and objective investigation, and if the investigation is insufficient, pursuing a special prosecutor will be inevitable."

Floor leader Joo Ho-young also urged at the meeting that day, "According to the testimony of the colonel who was the commander of the Korean Military Support Group at the time (of Minister Choo's son's military service), there was continuous external pressure from Seo's unit assignment to the request for an interpreter position at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics," and called on Minister Choo to "make a decision to either appoint a special prosecutor or resign regarding these allegations."

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 7th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party had also demanded the introduction of a special prosecutor on the 6th, citing the sluggish prosecution investigation into Seo's preferential military leave allegations.

People Power Party lawmakers belonging to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee said in a statement that day, "There are concrete suspicions that the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office omitted testimony from a unit official who said they spoke with the Minister's aide from the witness records," 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, "The prosecution has been investigating a very simple case that requires no account tracing procedure for over eight months now," and raised their voices, "Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol must appoint a special prosecutor as soon as possible."

According to the People Power Party and others, Seo, Minister Choo's son, served in KATUSA for 21 months starting from November 2016 when Minister Choo was the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, taking a total of 58 days of leave (28 days of annual leave, 11 days of special leave, and 19 days of sick leave).

KATUSA soldiers can take 28 days of regular annual leave during their 21-month service, and can also use special leaves such as reward leave and consolation leave.

However, Seo used more than twice the regular leave, and allegations of preferential treatment arose as there were claims that Seo's sick leave records did not appear in the military leave list data. In particular, there were also claims that Minister Choo's aides directly called the related unit and intervened during this process.

Additionally, there was an allegation of pressure to draft Seo as an interpreter during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. According to the unit officer, due to the pressure request, the selection process was changed to a lottery.

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae attended the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on the 25th of last month and is drinking water. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In response to this controversy, Democratic Party lawmakers defined the allegations against Seo as a "political offensive" and advocated caution, saying the results of the prosecution investigation should be awaited.

Democratic Party lawmaker Song Gap-seok said on the 7th on BBS Radio's "Park Kyung-soo's Morning Journal," "Since allegations have been raised, explanations should be made and the truth should be clarified," but added, "Currently, it is at a level that is reasonably understandable."

He continued, "I cannot shake the feeling that the opposition's issues and offensives are somewhat excessive," and pointed out, "Since they are trying to rebuild the party image by even changing the party name, such things should be avoided."

Fellow party member Park Beom-gye also said on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" that day regarding the allegations against Minister Choo's son, "It is true that he had surgery on both knees, and that he had knee surgery during the initial sick leave period, and that due to poor prognosis, he experienced pain and swelling, so the need for annual leave and sick leave continued, which seems objectively accurate."

Regarding the opposition's criticism that the prosecution is slow in its investigation, Park rebutted, "So far, there is no evidence that the prosecution has distorted, concealed, or manipulated the case regarding the Minister's complaint," and said, "This is not a matter for a special prosecutor."

Meanwhile, Seo's side has stated that there is no legal problem regarding the preferential military leave allegations.

Seo's lawyers from the law firm Jeongsang, Lee Jae-jin and Lim Ho-seop, emphasized in a statement on the 2nd, "Seo received a diagnosis from the Armed Forces Yangju Hospital that surgery was necessary according to sick leave regulations and submitted all the required documents for the sick leave application."

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 from June 23, but due to insufficient recovery, he inquired about extending the sick leave with his superior. He then took four days of personal leave and returned on the 27th.

The lawyers stated, "Before the first sick leave, he received prior education from the support team leader that sick leave could be up to 30 days and inquired about an extension," adding, "However, when he actually applied for the extension, he was told he had to use personal leave, so he reluctantly used leave."

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