Choo Mi-ae Criticized Kim Jong-min and Lee Nak-yeon, Saying "Do Not Distort Facts for Political Purposes"

"Do Not Politicize the Issue of Prosecution Reform"

Kim Jong-min, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 14th, Kim Jong-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized presidential candidate Chu Mi-ae, a contender from the Democratic Party, who directly accused fellow candidate Lee Nak-yeon of "evading responsibility for prosecutorial reform during his tenure as party leader."

Kim, who served as a Supreme Council member and a member of the Prosecutorial Reform Special Committee in the previous leadership, posted a message titled "To Candidate Chu Mi-ae" on his Facebook, stating, "I feel this is not right, so I want to say a few words."

He opened by saying, "At that time, I was the Supreme Council member in charge of prosecutorial reform. So if it were true that the previous leadership evaded prosecutorial reform, I would be the first person to take responsibility. Therefore, I cannot stay silent."

He continued, "Regarding prosecutorial reform, the previous leadership pursued it with a much stronger and firmer will than the Chu Mi-ae or Lee Hae-chan leaderships, at least in that regard."

This was in response to Chu's remarks in a media interview that day, targeting Lee Nak-yeon regarding the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency law, saying, "The leader should promise and push it forward with determination for the standing committee to function properly, but he is evading responsibility."

Choo Mi-ae, a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a press conference at the Gwangju City Council on the 14th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim said, "The core of prosecutorial reform is the separation of investigation and prosecution," adding, "Although the atmosphere has changed now, until last year, the party's stance was passive toward the separation of investigation and prosecution."

He explained, "Feeling it was necessary, I proposed the formation of the Prosecutorial Reform Special Committee to then-leader Lee Nak-yeon, who readily agreed. Although some advocated for slowing down, the party leadership consistently maintained a stance to proceed according to principles."

He added, "As a result, the Prosecutorial Reform Special Committee did not complete the legislation on the separation of investigation and prosecution. At the time, there were considerable opinions within the party that it would be a burden for the upcoming by-elections," and acknowledged, "It is true that we did not fully meet the public's and party members' desire for prosecutorial reform. However, political claims like 'Chu Mi-ae worked hard, but the party leadership evaded responsibility' are not correct."

Kim pointed out, "If Candidate Chu Mi-ae truly ran with a mission for prosecutorial reform, what she should do now is not to attack the previous leadership," and urged, "She should demand that Song Young-gil, the current leader who has not reconstituted the Prosecutorial Reform Special Committee for over two months since the leadership's inauguration on May 2, restart the committee."

Furthermore, he said, "The leading candidate in the polls, Lee Jae-myung, has openly stated in media interviews that he 'does not sympathize with the separation of investigation and prosecution' and 'does not know why it should be done.' He is deviating from the path of prosecutorial reform. I want to ask Candidate Chu Mi-ae whether she agrees with Lee Jae-myung's claims," and added, "If she sincerely cares about prosecutorial reform, she should ask Lee Jae-myung."

Finally, Kim said, "We should not bring the issue of prosecutorial reform into the primary race to use it for political attacks," calling it "an act that damages the banner of prosecutorial reform."

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