Will Minister Chu Release the Recording File Today?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been identified that an audio recording file clarifying the facts related to the document stating that one of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and her spouse directly called the Ministry of National Defense's civil affairs office to inquire about extending the leave of their son Seo Mo (27) during his military service remains on the military server.

According to government sources on the 15th, all voice recordings of calls made to the Ministry of National Defense's civil affairs office since 2015 are stored on the central military server.

According to related regulations, to protect personal information, voice recordings of civil complaints are kept for three years. Although these files were deleted from the Ministry of National Defense call center's own storage system last June, they remain on the main server. Additionally, call records including phone numbers that called the Ministry of National Defense's civil affairs office are also reported to be stored.

The prosecution is also aware of this and is expected to secure the records soon. Once the prosecution obtains these records, since they are voice recordings rather than simple call logs, it will be possible to determine not only who made the calls but also whether the calls were 'routine' complaints from soldiers' parents or if any inappropriate remarks that could cause misunderstandings were made at the time.

Minister Choo responded during the government questioning session at the National Assembly the previous day regarding the military unit interview record of her son Seo, which included the statement "It was confirmed that the parents filed a complaint," saying, "I did not make any phone calls." However, when asked, "Then did your husband make the call?" she replied, "I am not in a position to ask my husband."

Furthermore, ahead of the confirmation hearings scheduled for the 16th and 18th for Defense Minister nominee Seo Wook and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman nominee Won In-chul, it was revealed that they sent answers identical word-for-word to many questions from members of the National Defense Committee.

According to People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Joo-kyung, in the written responses submitted to the National Assembly the previous day, nominees Seo and Won repeatedly gave the same answers to dozens of questions related to recent defense issues.

Yoon analyzed that over 90% of the answers to common questions were identical, and for the remaining 10%, although the expressions differed, the content and intent were the same.

For example, when asked whether North Korea conducting training targeting models of our government facilities violates the inter-Korean military agreement, both nominees stated identically, "We believe that training targeting specific facility models does not violate the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement."

When asked about their views on the development of the Taereung Golf Course site, they answered, "It was decided after comprehensively considering the necessity and urgency of expanding housing supply as a national policy and the impact on soldiers' welfare."

Regarding the claim by Kim Won-woong, president of the Liberation Association, about the pro-Japanese actions of a former Army Chief of Staff, they only said, "It is inappropriate to comment on statements reflecting various historical perspectives." This appears to be the result of the fact that the preparation teams for the confirmation hearings of nominees Seo and Won are the same.

Although the nominees each reviewed and finalized the responses, Yoon argues that the answers merely parroting the government's official stance could distort the true purpose of the confirmation hearings.

Yoon stated, "The confirmation hearing is intended to verify the candidate's ability, qualifications, morality, and suitability as a public official," and criticized, "This response is a clear example showing the government's perception of the hearing as merely a formality."

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