Autumn, on presidential ambitions: "I will not have ambitions until prosecutorial reform is achieved"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] On the 16th, Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice, said, "I have sworn not to have political desires or ambitions until prosecutorial reform is completed."

At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee that day, when Jeon Ju-hye of the People Power Party asked, "Do you have any intention to run for Seoul mayor or president?" Minister Choo replied, "I came to this position with a mission solely to reform the prosecution as the Minister of Justice, so I do not hold any political stance until the work is finished." When Jeon asked, "Does that mean you will not express it while holding the ministerial position?" Minister Choo emphasized, "It's not that I won't express it, but that I have no intention."

However, when asked if that means she might consider it after stepping down from the ministerial position, she said, "I can't say for sure, but I will not do so until prosecutorial reform is completed."

On the same day, Minister Choo again targeted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl regarding special activity funds. She said, "The amount treated as the Prosecutor General's petty cash reaches 5 billion won." She also emphasized, "We need to reveal the actual situation where about half of the 9.4 billion won in special activity funds sent down is used like the Prosecutor General's personal money. We are currently inspecting whether any part was used arbitrarily, and after the inspection, we must find a reasonable solution."

Regarding the question of whether the minister directly overseeing special activity funds might be perceived as directing investigations, she replied, "I have no intention of doing that," and added, "Democratic control over the budget must be maintained."

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