Yoon Geon-young "It's Harsh While Choo's Son Is Sick" vs Hwang Bo-seung-hee "Why Did the Secretary Call?"

Yoon Geon-young, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated regarding the allegations of special military leave privileges for the son of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, "If a family calling the Ministry of National Defense is considered a request, then every call made to the community service center would also be a request."

On the 15th, Yoon appeared on MBC's '100-Minute Debate' and during a discussion with Hwang Bo-seung-hee of the People Power Party, he argued, "The principles and standards for the minister's son and the worker's son should be the same. The minister's son did not deviate from principles and standards."

Hwang pointed out that "The officer who ordered the extension of Mr. Seo's (Minister Choo's son) leave admitted during the prosecution investigation that a secretary called three times when Minister Choo was the Democratic Party leader," adding, "Approving the leave extension after the fact by phone without clear evidence in a decisive situation is an illicit request."

In response, Yoon countered, "He had surgery on one knee before joining the military and had surgery on the other knee after joining," and said, "If someone is in pain, having surgery on both knees, and is outside the unit, isn't it natural to call the military to check if the sick leave can be extended?"

Hwang Bo-seung-hee, member of the People Power Party./Yonhap News

When Hwang said, "I don't understand why the secretary made the calls," Yoon replied, "There are procedures related to military leave, and not a single order or regulation was violated, yet the opposition claims the procedures were wrong."

When Hwang again argued, "We need to review Mr. Seo's medical records to see if the leave could be extended while he was absent without leave," Yoon responded, "That's really harsh," adding, "He is a friend who had surgery on both knees. I haven't even seen his face. Would a healthy person have surgery on both knees? Asking a sick person if they are in pain is as harsh as it gets."

Yoon also defended Minister Choo, saying, "Her son had surgery on both knees, and Minister Choo's husband has lived with a leg disability for decades. If it were a parent's or family's heart, I think it's understandable to call the Ministry of National Defense's civil affairs office."

He continued, "We need to clearly understand the scope and standards of what constitutes a request, and apply the same standards and principles uniformly across South Korea. That is fairness," adding, "Minister Choo stated during the government questioning that she did not give any instructions and did not make any calls herself. I believe this will be clarified through the prosecution investigation."

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