Suspicions of Special Leave Favoritism for Minister Chu's Son 'Round 2'... Legal Battle Intensifies (Comprehensive)

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is entering the conference room to attend the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The controversy over alleged "special leave" during the military service of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, Seo Mo, has entered a new phase. Although the prosecution concluded not to indict Minister Choo's side on various allegations, both Minister Choo's side and the accusers continue to clash through lawsuits, and the aftermath remains intense.

Kim Young-soo, director of the Defense Rights Research Institute and former defense investigator at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, who represents Mr. Hyun's position, posted a statement on his Facebook on the 6th, saying, "We will file a complaint with the National Police Agency against Minister Choo and Seo's lawyer Hyun Geun-taek for defamation by spreading false information, claiming that Mr. Hyun lied."

Kim also stated, "We plan to sue about 800 people who used abusive and insulting language at an unacceptable level through social network services (SNS) for defamation."

Kim said, "Mr. Hyun only spoke the substantive truth he personally experienced, but groups and individuals with political interests, factional logic, and ignoring objective facts, solely with confirmation bias, turned a young man into a national liar to confirm their beliefs." He added, "After the investigation results prove the facts, it is common sense and basic human decency to acknowledge that their claims were not true and to apologize or at least express regret to the parties involved."

Regarding Seo's side's claim that Seo and Mr. Hyun never spoke about the leave return issue, Kim disclosed a conversation with the public relations officer of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office. According to the recording, when Kim protested the claim by Seo's lawyer that "(on June 25, 2017) Mr. Hyun never spoke with Seo," the public relations officer replied, "After many inquiries, the investigation team confirmed that Seo also admitted the call during the prosecution investigation. The fact is correct."

Earlier, on the 2nd of last month, Seo's legal team issued a statement saying, "On Sunday the 25th, when Mr. A claimed to have been on duty, Seo's leave had already been processed, so there was no reason to call the duty soldier," and "All situations described by Mr. A are false."

Meanwhile, Shin Won-sik, a member of the People Power Party who raised the special leave allegations against Minister Choo's son, Mr. Hyun, and military officials at the time are scheduled for police investigation.

On the 5th, the civic group Judicial Justice Citizens' Action (Sasehaeng) filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office against four individuals: Representative Shin, Mr. Hyun, retired Colonel Lee Cheol-won, former commander of the U.S. Forces Korea Support Group, and Lee Gyun-cheol, chairman of the People's Party Gyeonggi Province Party. The prosecution referred the case to the Seoul Seocho Police Station.

On the 17th of last month, Sasehaeng filed charges against them for defamation by spreading false information and obstruction of business by deception against a media organization. The police will conduct the first complainant investigation on the 13th, and Sasehaeng plans to hold a press conference in front of the former Seocho Police Station to announce their position.

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