Joo Ho-young: "There is another decisive tip about Chu Mi-ae... President Moon must decide"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] On the 10th, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated that there is decisive additional information regarding the allegations of 'military leave favoritism' involving the son of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, and urged a decision on Minister Choo's position, saying, "The final decision must be made by President Moon Jae-in."

On the same day, during CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Floor Leader Joo said, "In the past, when controversies like this arose and the Ministry of Justice and prosecution were shaken due to family issues, the appointing authority made a swift decision," emphasizing this point.

When asked if there is more decisive additional information enough to urge a presidential decision, he answered "Yes," but did not mention specific details.

Regarding the question of whether Minister Choo is likely to resign, he said, "I also see it that way." He added, "The final approval authority for the chaotic prosecution personnel appointments is the president, so it is not Minister Choo acting alone, but ultimately the president's decision. The president is as much at fault as Minister Choo. The one who can decide the minister's position is the president," he stressed.

Floor Leader Joo criticized, saying, "Young people endure the same hardships in the military, but some receive special favors using 'mom's chance,' while others take over 50 days of sick leave or annual leave, which angers many. However, in cases like former Minister Cho Kuk or this one, this administration seems to defend its side to the end despite public outrage."

He added, "The ruling party's support among people in their 20s is dropping significantly, and support among those in their 30s and 40s with children going to the military is also declining. Isn't it all revealed how the public and public sentiment view this?"

Floor Leader Joo said, "I think the Democratic Party worsened the situation by trying to defend it in a way that is far from the facts. Minister Choo's attitude and stance in handling this issue are also problematic," and pointed out, "If Minister Choo were innocent, she should quickly ask a third party to reveal the truth and prove her innocence. Instead, she claims with people under her influence in the prosecution that nothing happened, dragging this simple case on for eight months and dividing public opinion."

When asked if parents might call to file complaints if their child is sick in the military, he said, "That could happen, but ordinary people probably don't even know where or how to call." He continued, "However, the identity of the parents is known, and it has been revealed that complaints were made multiple times from the Ministry of National Defense's ministerial aide office to the then Democratic Party leader's aides. In a situation where the identity is already known, the fact that the parents called directly goes beyond a simple inquiry and includes requests and pressure."

Meanwhile, regarding the controversy over the text message "Kakao, tell them to come in" sent by Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Young-chan during the negotiation group representative speech, Floor Leader Joo said, "This is evidence of a lawmaker's abuse of power and, furthermore, the Moon administration's control and manipulation of public opinion by dominating the media."

He claimed relevance, saying, "Lawmaker Yoon is a former journalist who moved to Naver and worked for nine years in news editing, even becoming vice president. He was the SNS headquarters chief for President Moon's election campaign and served as the Blue House's public communication secretary." He then mentioned Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam's 'Druking case,' stating, "In the trial process of the case involving manipulation of public opinion during the presidential election, there is a text message indicating that among Naver executives, there is an 'informant for Baduk (referring to Governor Kim),' raising suspicion."

Regarding the issue of political interference in portals, Floor Leader Joo said, "Former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong mentioned that news placement is not politically neutral. Because the system is not transparent, those who feel that unfavorable news is frequently posted always protest, and such incidents can recur, but interference is undesirable." He added, "This is an opportunity to ensure that arbitrary advantages or disadvantages cannot be made and to review the algorithm design itself to be neutral."

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