Jeong Cheong-rae "Choo Mi-ae Fighting" vs Kim Cheol-geun "The Height of Flattery"

Jeong Cheong-rae Supports Choo by Citing the First Buddhist Scripture 'Suttanipata'

Jeong Cheong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea member. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, sent a message of support to Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, saying, "Minister Chu Mi-ae is the person who breaks through the wind of resistance against the so-called prosecution reform and runs like a rhinoceros horn," which Kim Cheol-geun, the People Power Party’s Seoul Gangseo-gu Byeong district party committee chairman, strongly criticized as "the height of flattery."

Earlier, on the 16th, Jeong posted on his Facebook, saying, "Absolute monopoly leads to absolute corruption. Prosecution reform for the decentralization of power has repeatedly failed," and added, "Now, prosecution reform is heading toward the 80% mark. The adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police and the launch of the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office are the benchmarks."

Jeong said, "Prosecution reform, which is heading toward the final stage, stands at a critical crossroads where the greater meaning of judicial democratization may or may not be realized," and added, "As mentioned earlier, newness accompanies unfamiliarity, and new laws and systems inevitably face resistance."

He continued, "If it were anyone other than Chu Mi-ae, whoever the Minister of Justice at this point in time, they would have been attacked in the same way. Like Cho Kuk (former Minister of Justice)," and said, "In the era of prosecution reform, the fate of Chu Mi-ae as the minister in charge. Therefore, I support Minister Chu Mi-ae."

He also quoted the Sutta Nipata, the earliest Buddhist scripture recording the teachings of the Buddha, saying, "Like a lion unafraid of noise, like the wind that is not caught in a net, like a lotus that is not sullied by muddy water, go alone like a rhinoceros horn," to encourage Minister Chu.

Kim Cheol-geun, Chairman of the People's Power Party in Gangseo-byeong, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

In response, Chairman Kim mocked on his Facebook the same day, saying, "You wrote a support post with all kinds of embellishments; do you want to receive a letter like 'Dear Comrade Jeong Cheong-rae'?"

Chairman Kim said, "I don’t know if Minister Chu will go on to the next presidential race, Seoul mayor, or prime minister, but this is typical Jeong Cheong-rae," and added, "You have completely misdirected your message. There are many things you should say to the Moon Jae-in administration and the Democratic Party. In short, it is self-contradictory."

He then pointed out, "The core of prosecution reform is strengthening the neutrality and independence of the prosecution and decentralizing prosecutorial power. The measure of the prosecution’s neutrality and independence is the investigation of the living power," and criticized, "Is it prosecution reform to use personnel authority, investigative command authority, and inspection authority to block prosecutors who investigate the living power from conducting investigations?"

Finally, he said, "Instead of supporting Minister Chu, Representative Jeong should support the people whose hearts are heavy and lives are hard," and reiterated, "The people all know well. Don’t dismiss the people as Gabunggae (crayfish, crucian carp, frog?a term derived from former Minister Cho Kuk’s remarks)."

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