"The Story Behind Chu Mi-ae Revealing 'Moon Told Minister to Step Down'"

"'Step down,' said Moon, was hard to believe"
"Only Yoon rushing like a whirlwind left me scared"

Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, who served during the Moon Jae-in administration, has revealed behind-the-scenes stories about her resignation from the ministerial post, causing aftershocks in Yeouido's political circles. Chu was the key figure who led the suspension of duties order and disciplinary charges against then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who is now the President.

On the 29th, Chu appeared on the YouTube channel 'OhmyTV' and stated, "(President Moon Jae-in) directly told me to 'step down,'" clarifying that her resignation was not voluntary. Chu was appointed minister in January 2020 after former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk resigned amid the Cho Kuk scandal. She stepped down about a year later, on January 27, 2021.

After completing the farewell ceremony, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is moving to take a commemorative photo with employees before leaving the Government Complex Gwacheon on January 27, 2021. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Chu said, "At first, I received the president's request to 'step down as Minister of Justice' through the Chief of Staff, and I couldn't believe it, thinking there might be some manipulation in the middle."

She continued, "I explained the seriousness of the issue (disciplinary resolution against Prosecutor General Yoon) to the president and visited the Blue House to obtain the president's signature as the final approval authority, spending about an hour discussing it. The president complimented me, saying, 'Would the prosecution reform have come this far without Minister Chu?'"

However, she confessed, "I told the president that keeping me in office was necessary to properly conclude the disciplinary case against Prosecutor General Yoon and the prosecution reform, but the conclusion was the same: to ask me to step down."

Chu said, "If I step down, what signal would that send to the outside? I was very afraid of the aftershocks," adding, "All that would be left is Prosecutor General Yoon running through like a hot knife through butter."

She went on, "I had been holding my tension tightly for months preparing for the disciplinary resolution against Prosecutor General Yoon, but when the conclusion was that I had to resign, I felt a heavy heart and great difficulty, thinking 'the discipline of this country is collapsing.'"

Chu said, "What made me feel despair was sensing that even the president would find it difficult to handle the prosecutor general," and questioned, "If I step down, wouldn't that send a signal that 'the prosecutor general did nothing wrong, but the minister overstepped'?"

She added, "I think the Moon Jae-in administration put the first button of prosecution reform on the wrong button," explaining, "That first button was a personnel failure?appointing then Yoon Seok-yeol, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor, as prosecutor general and handing over all personnel authority to him."

Chu clashed with President Yoon, who was then the prosecutor general, over prosecution personnel and the Channel A media collusion allegations. Chu took measures such as suspending Yoon from duty and filing disciplinary charges, leading to ongoing conflicts. Through this process, Yoon entered politics and became president.

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