Justice minister emerges as opposition's target
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae speaks during a session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times file
By Kang Seung-woo
The main opposition party is accusing Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae of “insolence” toward the National Assembly.
Due to a series of clashes with them, opposition lawmakers say that Choo, a former five-term lawmaker, goes over the top whenever she addresses the Assembly.
During Monday's session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Choo clashed with lawmakers of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) over her son's alleged special treatment in the military.
Rep. Yoon Han-hong of the UFP questioned Vice Justice Minister Koh Ki-young whether his abrupt appointment had to do with a prosecution investigation of Choo's son, who allegedly went AWOL in 2017 after not returning from official leave. However, her son was later granted extended leave for a knee problem after Choo, then-chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Korea, allegedly contacted military officials regarding her son's condition.
Yoon's speculation is based on the fact that Koh, who became the head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in January under Choo's direction, was promoted to the deputy minister job only three months later. In January, the office was investigating the allegation involving Choo's son.
In response, Choo immediately struck back at Yoon, saying, “You are making up a story ― please ask a reasonable question.”
Choo's belligerent response led to bipartisan bickering, which resulted in a 40-minute adjournment.
After the break, Choo once again ruffled opposition lawmakers' feathers, saying, “A lawmaker's immunity is not a privilege that should be abused by making false claims against others. If you really are confident in your claims, make them without seeking immunity.”
Following the session that failed to discuss pending issues, including the reform of the prosecution, UFP lawmakers belonging to the legislation committee held a press conference in which they criticized the justice minister's comments.
“I thought that Choo would make an apology for her contemptuous remarks, but she refused to do so and tried to lay blame with the opposition lawmakers, which was completely absurd,” Rep. Kim Do-eup of the UFP said.
Chang Je-won, a fellow UFP lawmaker, slammed Choo, saying, “Whenever the justice minister visits the Assembly, it turns into a mess.” He said Choo's comments and behavior were insults to the people, as a lawmaker's role is to ask Cabinet members questions on behalf of the people.
It was not the first time that the justice minister locked horns with the official opposition.
On July 22, she exchanged words with Rep. Kim Tae-heum of the UFP over an alleged leak of the justice ministry's internal discussion about its response to the top prosecutor's suggestion regarding a blackmail investigation, which involved a former journalist and a ranking prosecutor. Upon Kim's questions over the alleged leak, Choo raised her voice and said, “So what do you want me to do?”
In addition, two days later, Choo confronted Rep. Kwak Sang-do of the UFP during an interpellation session over former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife who reportedly said her goal was to purchase a building in Seoul's affluent Gangnam area. Cho was President Moon Jae-in's close aide, who had only a brief tenure as justice minister due to corruption scandals surrounding him and his family members.
Citing a local broadcaster report, Kwak attacked Cho's wife, but Choo responded, saying, “Do you believe everything the media reports? There is a slew of fake news.”
As a result, the UFP's 58 first-term lawmakers issued a letter of protest to Assembly Speaker Rep. Park Byeong-seug and Deputy Speaker Rep. Kim Sang-hee, Monday, saying the two failed to give warnings to the minister regarding her “arrogance.”