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Justice minister under growing pressure to step down

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Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae bows during an intepellation session at the National Assembly, Sept. 14. Yonhap
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae bows during an intepellation session at the National Assembly, Sept. 14. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

The opposition is stepping up its pressure on Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae to step down amid a widening scandal over her alleged influence peddling to get her son special treatment during his mandatory military service a few years ago.

Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Kim Chong-in said that Choo and her predecessor Cho Kuk, who is on trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling regarding his children's education, have enraged the people. The Korean public is very sensitive to illegalities of elected officials and high-level public servants particularly involving education and the mandatory military service of their children.

"It's like the country is fighting two kinds of viruses," Kim said during a party meeting, Monday. "One is the coronavirus and the other is the virus of inequality.

"Within the Moon Jae-in administration, justice ministers are the super spreaders of the inequality virus. The people are infuriated with the privileges given the children of former justice minister Cho and minister Choo in the areas of education and military service," he said.

The PPP leader said the ruling bloc calls a misconduct a "privilege and foul play" when others commit it, while calling it "equality" when its people do the same.

He called on Moon to make his position clear about the calls for the dismissal of Choo, criticizing the President's silence on the issue. "President Moon should dismiss the justice minister in accordance with the people's call," Kim added. "The President is ultimately responsible for the controversy over the unfair favors surrounding the justice minister. The situation should not be aggravated by his silence."

So far the President has chosen not to mention anything publicly related to the controversy about the justice minister, who was appointed in January following the departure of her scandal-ridden predecessor.

Moon's office has also shunned touching on the controversy, saying the prosecution's investigation of the allegations regarding Choo's son is underway.

The PPP leader's remarks came a day after Choo made an online apology about causing a stir. But the message resulted in more public anger as it lacked any real explanations about the core controversies regarding her son's military service. She also repeated her resolve to carry out "judicial reform" no matter what, signaling that she was intended to carry out her job despite the mounting calls for her dismissal.

Minor opposition People's Party chief Ahn Cheol-soo also criticized Choo, who talked about her husband's leg disability and her son's leg surgeries in her online apology.

"People are talking about fairness and justice so why does Choo give irrelevant answers with tear-jerking stories?" Ahn said in a party meeting, Monday, adding the allegations involving her son and judicial reform are two different things.

"Is Choo resisting (calls for resignation) because the President supports her?" he said. "I hope Moon and Choo will make an administration that deprives people of hope and trust."

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has been trying to stand by her and defined the allegations as a "political attack."

"Yesterday, the justice minister explained about her family situation and showed her commitment for judicial reform," DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon said during a Supreme Council meeting, Monday. "The prosecution will uncover the truth behind the allegations. The political circle must refrain from political wrangling and wait for the results of the prosecution's investigation."

The DPK's reaction is also causing the public to turn their backs on the ruling party and the President as well. A Monday survey showed support ratings for Moon and the ruling party have been declining ― Moon's job approval rating dropped by 2.5 percentage points from the previous week to 45.6 percent, and that of the DPK was down 4.4 percentage points to 33.4 percent.


Do Je-hae jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr


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