[2020 National Audit] Ministry of Justice Audit, Power Struggle from the Start... Minister Chu's Dispute Begins

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae appeared at the National Assembly Judiciary Committee on the 12th for the audit of the Ministry of Justice and others, taking the witness oath. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] On the 12th, the ruling and opposition parties showed conflict over data requests as the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee began the Ministry of Justice's national audit. They debated for nearly 20 minutes over the request for property data of Lee Kangseop, head of the Legislation Office, which was mentioned during the audit on the 7th, and only started the main questioning at 11:30 a.m.

Democratic Party lawmaker Song Kiheon began questioning the Ministry of Justice's audit starting with prosecution reform, but voices between both sides grew louder over the suspicion of 'special leave' granted to Minister Chu's son. Previously, the People Power Party requested about 20 general witnesses including Minister Chu's son, Seo Mo, but the Democratic Party completely rejected this.

People Power Party lawmaker Jeon Juhye asked Minister Chu during last month's government questioning whether she would apologize for her 'false explanation' after stating she "never instructed her aide to make contact." However, Minister Chu responded, "I have never violated laws or made improper requests." Earlier, the prosecution decided not to indict Minister Chu's son, but controversy over 'false explanation' arose after KakaoTalk conversations were revealed showing Minister Chu passing the contact information of a unit officer to her aide and receiving reports. Minister Chu had stated during last month's National Assembly government questioning that she "never instructed her aide to make contact."

The Lime and Optimus scandals, which show signs of escalating into 'power-type gates' under the current administration, are also expected to be covered significantly. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which are investigating the Lime and Optimus cases respectively, have been accused of not properly reporting investigation matters to Prosecutor General Yoon Seokyeol. The opposition criticizes the prosecution for neglecting the investigation of power-type gates and causing poor investigations.

Minister Chu's prosecution reform efforts are also expected to come under scrutiny. She has been criticized for isolating Prosecutor General Yoon through personnel appointments of senior and mid-level prosecutors and promoting a large number of prosecutors verified as pro-government.

The key point to watch during the audit, which will continue throughout the afternoon, is how Minister Chu will counterattack with her arguments. Following last month's government questioning, she is likely to actively respond again to the opposition's 'falsehood frame.' After the prosecution announced the investigation results regarding her son, Minister Chu warned, "Irresponsible forces that used the one-sided claims of informants without verification as tools for political strife must bear strict responsibility."

Moreover, the Democratic Party's ironclad defense, which resulted in the failure to adopt key witnesses, also works in Minister Chu's favor. This is why it is more likely that Minister Chu and the opposition will repeat existing verbal battles rather than raise new issues on this day.

In addition, Minister Chu has cited the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gongsoocheo) as a major task of prosecution reform, and the ruling and opposition parties are expected to clash over the establishment of Gongsoocheo during the audit. Clashes between the ruling and opposition parties are also anticipated over recent issues such as the revision of the abortion law and prevention of recidivism among sex offenders.

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