Kim Nam-guk on Opposition's Attack Over 'Choo Son Allegations': "It's Because Many Haven't Completed Military Service"

"Do They Order Soldiers Recovering from Illness to Return to Their Units?"

Kim Nam-guk, Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Regarding the allegations of special treatment during military leave for the son of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the People Power Party, which continues to criticize Minister Choo, saying, "I will assume it is because many of them have not served in the military."

On the 7th, Kim wrote on his Facebook, "If you had served in the military, you would know how things work, so you wouldn't make such claims."

He continued, "When you engage in excessive political attacks, you sometimes 'swing and miss,'" and questioned, "Is it a reasonable claim to tell a soldier who is hospitalized after surgery or recuperating at home due to illness to cross mountains and seas to return to the unit to receive additional petition leave?"

He added, "If such a regulation exists, lawmakers should rather question the sick soldier, asking, 'Does this make any sense?'"

Kim emphasized, "There is no such unreasonable regulation in our Army, and in fact, unit commanders do not tell soldiers on sick leave to return to the unit again to receive additional petition leave," and explained, "If there is a reason for sick leave when initially leaving, additional petitions are handled retrospectively."

Earlier, the People Power Party raised suspicions that Minister Choo's son, Seo Mo, received special treatment by extending his leave consecutively while being absent without leave after his military leave ended. On the 31st of last month, allegations surfaced that when Minister Choo was the leader of the Democratic Party, her aide called the unit where Seo was serving in 2017 to request an extension of his leave.

However, Seo's side explained these allegations as "normal procedures without any issues." Seo's legal team stated in a press release on the morning of the 8th, "The KATUSA unit where Seo served follows the 'U.S. Army Regulation 600-2 in Korea,'" and "Seo took leave based on this regulation."

Regarding the criticism that military leave documents must be kept for five years according to Army regulations, but Seo's leave documents are currently missing, constituting a violation, the legal team rebutted, "According to the U.S. Army regulations in Korea, documents must be kept for one year, so the claim of violation is incorrect."

Regarding the claim that to receive additional sick leave, a recuperation review must be conducted according to Army regulations, and that after sick leave, one must return to the unit and obtain approval again, the legal team said, "Petition leave under this regulation is not subject to recuperation review, so this appears to be a misinterpretation of the law," and added, "The regulation does not state that after the first sick leave ends, one must return to the unit and obtain approval again."

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