Choo Mi-ae: "Invisible Hand Behind Cho Kuk's Daughter's Admission Cancellation... Someone Likely Made a Political Judgment Considering the Presidential Election"

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, a preliminary candidate in the Democratic Party presidential primary. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Regarding Pusan National University's decision to cancel the admission of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's daughter to the medical school, former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae mentioned Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, stating, "Who is the real subject of political considerations? The source of political considerations that provoke reform must be revealed."

On the 25th, former Minister Choo posted on her Facebook, "The sudden preliminary administrative action to cancel the admission of Ms. A, the daughter of former Minister Cho, is a barbaric and despicable act that forgets judicial justice, human rights, and the original purpose of education," adding, "Why is the Ministry of Education under the Moon Jae-in administration, which proposed the ruling philosophy of 'People First,' going in the opposite direction?"

Former Minister Choo shared an article from March in which Minister Yoo ordered Pusan National University to investigate allegations of admission fraud involving Ms. A, criticizing, "The claim that the university can cancel the admission even though the court's judgment remains, while the minister cannot even touch corruption in university education, was unbelievable. Until the minister's statement, Pusan National University had maintained a consistent position to deliberate after the Supreme Court ruling."

She continued, "Considering the behavior of certain forces that blamed former Minister Cho for the by-election defeat, it seems that a political judgment was made to ride public sentiment by sacrificing Cho and his family to restore the value of 'fairness.' I believe that the investigation, prosecution, and trial processes have all been operated within a framework set up more for framing than for truth."

Earlier, on March 8, Minister Yoo ordered Pusan National University to investigate the admission fraud allegations against Ms. A. Then, at the 18th Education Trust Recovery Promotion Team meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex on March 24, she stated, "It does not violate the presumption of innocence for Pusan National University to investigate the facts and take measures before the final court ruling," and added, "Pusan National University has the obligation to investigate the internal admission fraud allegations and take a series of measures."

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae posted on her Facebook on the 25th, claiming that the decision to cancel the admission of Ms. A, the daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, was a political judgment. Photo by Former Minister Choo's Facebook capture.

Former Minister Choo claimed that Pusan National University's decision to cancel the admission was a political judgment considering the presidential election. She said, "It appears that someone made a political judgment that it was necessary to swiftly resolve the series of incidents related to former Minister Cho before the presidential election to prevent any influence," warning, "Such political judgment will be a fatal poison that allows falsehood and hypocrisy to flourish and alienates supporters."

Former Minister Choo concluded her post by saying, "You have to burst the abscess and squeeze everything out for new flesh to grow. That is reform. If you do not remove falsehoods, just patch things up temporarily, put them aside, and show a cowardly attitude by stepping back, you will never be able to hold onto public sentiment."

Meanwhile, Pusan National University announced on the 24th that it had notified Ms. A's legal representative of the preliminary administrative action to cancel her admission to the medical school. Following this, a hearing procedure will proceed according to the Administrative Procedures Act, and it is expected to take 2 to 3 months until the final decision is confirmed.

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