Won Hee-ryong: "Choo Mi-ae, How Dare You Compare Ahn Jung-geun to Cho Kuk... Is Your Mental State Sound?"

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Ju-hee] Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong raised his voice in criticism toward former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, who compared the family of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk to independence activist Ahn Jung-geun, asking, "Is your mental world intact?"

On the 15th, former Governor Won wrote on Facebook, "Candidate Chu Mi-ae, defending Cho Kuk with your absurd mental world is annoying, but I could just close my eyes and avoid it. But how dare you compare Ahn Jung-geun to Cho Kuk?" he said.

Earlier, former Minister Chu, in an interview with Yonhap News on the same day, pointed out regarding Cho Kuk’s spouse, Professor Jung Kyung-shim of Dongyang University, who was recently sentenced to prison in the appellate court, "If now you want to bury Cho Kuk, then why did you get into politics and why did you come out to the candlelight square? (This investigation) was carried out with the intentions and calculations of forces resisting reform, and all of this is a task that must be reformed."

She then analogized, "Ahn Jung-geun shot Ito Hirobumi, was tried by a Japanese judge, became a terrorist, and was executed, but since it ended like that, it’s the same as saying we should accept and cooperate with Japanese rule."

In response, former Governor Won criticized, "Is it really okay to go this far?" and said, "No matter how desperate you are because your approval rating isn’t rising, is this something a person with a normal mental world would do?"

He added, "It was already outrageous that during your ministerial tenure you made embarrassing remarks that burdened the people, but honestly, this case is unforgivable," and urged, "If your mind is truly intact, kneel and apologize before history, before Ahn Jung-geun, and before the people."

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