Kim Jong-min "Choo's aide, like brothers with his son... May have called the Ministry of National Defense"

Kim Jong-min, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] On the 15th, Kim Jong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, claimed regarding the 'military leave privilege suspicion' involving Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, "It is possible that a secretary close to Minister Choo, who is close to her son Mr. Seo, made an inquiry call to the Ministry of National Defense."

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day, Rep. Kim said, "Private Seo (Minister Choo's son) and the secretary are close and have been like brothers since the election campaign," adding, "Minister Choo denies making any calls, and it is not logically convincing that Minister Choo, who was the party leader at the time, would simply make a complaint call."

Earlier, Minister Choo denied the suspicion during the National Assembly's government questioning session held on the 14th, regarding internal Ministry of National Defense records suggesting that "the parents (Minister Choo and her husband) directly filed a request for leave extension," stating, "I have no record of making such contact." When asked by opposition lawmakers whether her husband made the call, she replied, "We are a weekend couple, so I could not ask him." She also stated that she did not instruct her secretary to make any calls at that time.

Regarding the Ministry of National Defense document, Rep. Kim said, "Although the wording says the parents made the call, the support team leader only conveyed that someone had made an inquiry call and asked Private Seo, who speculated that 'it could have been the parents,'" and claimed, "The Ministry of National Defense did not verify the identity of the complainant."

Rep. Kim further commented on Minister Choo's statement that "I am not in a position to ask my husband," saying, "It seems there are some personal circumstances related to his health condition. I do not know the details exactly, but it appears that confirmation is not smooth."

When asked whether ordinary soldiers can verbally extend their leave, he answered, "Anyone can," adding, "It is necessary if the superior officer sees that it is not malingering, or if it is truly unavoidable, or if the soldier is limping after surgery."

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