Yeo "Minister Chu's son personally practiced the words of An Jung-geun"... Phrase deleted amid controversy

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea has sparked controversy by stating that Minister Choo Mi-ae's son personally embodied the words of An Jung-geun.

Park Sung-joon, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said in a briefing on the 16th afternoon, "The clear fact is that Minister Choo's son took military leave during his service as a soldier to undergo knee surgery," adding, "Minister Choo's son personally practiced An Jung-geun's words that 'it is the duty of a soldier to dedicate his body for the country (Wiguk Heonshin Goonin Bonbun·爲國獻身軍人本分)."

He continued, "The Ministry of National Defense also stated that 'there was no special treatment in the extension of leave, and verbal approval is possible,' and a colleague who served with Minister Choo's son in KATUSA testified that 'there was no special treatment for Mr. Seo, and he rather led an exemplary military life.'"

Park criticized the People Power Party, saying, "The government questioning, which should focus on people's livelihood, is being distorted into a hearing on Minister Choo Mi-ae's son," and added, "In this serious situation where non-traditional security threats such as the U.S.-China conflict externally and the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) domestically have newly emerged, it is neither reasonable nor productive to misuse the confirmation hearing of the Minister of National Defense, who oversees defense and security policies, as a battleground for political strife."

He urged, "Do not use our military as a tool for political strife. Rather than fervently raising unreasonable suspicions, I hope you focus on verifying national security policies."

Meanwhile, after Park's briefing sparked controversy, the Democratic Party deleted the problematic parts and resent the statement to reporters. The party explained, "There were corrections to Park's afternoon briefing, so it was resent."

The ruling party lawmakers' defense of Minister Choo has repeatedly caused controversies. On the morning of the same day, Representative Hong Young-pyo criticized at the confirmation hearing, saying, "In the past, forces that privatized the military and interfered in politics within the military used to conduct civilian surveillance, covert operations, and even coups. Now that such actions are no longer possible, they are conducting covert operations in the National Assembly."

Representative Jung Chung-rae also questioned Minister Choo during the government questioning on the 14th, asking, "Minister Choo warned of a military coup during the impeachment phase. What do you think about the movements of political soldiers?" Representative Woo Sang-ho said, "KATUSA itself is a comfortable military, so the controversy is meaningless," and Representative Hwang Hee caused controversy by revealing the real name and face of the whistleblower, KATUSA duty soldier Mr. A, leading to a public apology.

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