"Ministry of Justice Also Admits Internal Discussion Details Leaked to Choe Kang-wook," Criticism Raised
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong on the 9th called the suspicion that the draft of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's statement was leaked in advance to Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, an "unbelievable and shocking incident" and claimed it was a "repetition of state manipulation."
Governor Won wrote on his Facebook that day, "The internal discussions of the Ministry of Justice leaked to Representative Choi, and the Ministry of Justice also admitted it," stating this.
He continued, "The Choi Soon-sil state manipulation also began with reports that Choi Soon-sil reviewed former President Park Geun-hye's speech," and pointed out, "If Minister Choo shared her statement with the criminal suspect Representative Choi, it is an even worse state manipulation."
Governor Won raised his voice, saying, "Let me ask directly. Did it leak to Choi Kang-wook, or did Choi Kang-wook write it? If the Minister of Justice conspires with power brokers and the prosecution must obey every time the Minister instructs the Prosecutor General accordingly, is that a country?"
Earlier, on the afternoon of the 8th, Representative Choi posted a message titled 'Ministry of Justice Notice' on his Facebook.
The post included content such as "The person subject to legal command has the obligation to comply, and complying means respecting the commander," and "From the standpoint of respect, proposing other alternatives is not the duty of a public official."
He also commented, "The duty of a public official is the point most lacking in Prosecutor General Yoon," and "Even though I said it was a dead end since yesterday."
However, about 30 minutes after posting, Representative Choi deleted the post. He explained, "The Ministry of Justice notice containing words like 'duty of a public official' was confirmed to be inaccurate and was deleted," and "The Ministry of Justice never issued such a notice. I apologize for the confusion."
According to multiple media outlets and explanations from the Ministry of Justice, the content of the post first uploaded by Representative Choi was reported to be a draft of the statement Minister Choo announced toward Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.
However, the actual statement delivered by the Ministry of Justice that day was, "The Prosecutor General's recommendations practically include the replacement or change of the investigation team, so it cannot be seen as carrying out the Minister's instructions as written."
When suspicions arose that the statement was leaked to Representative Choi before being delivered by the Ministry of Justice, Representative Choi wrote again on Facebook, "The Future United Party raised the Blue House conspiracy theory as a conspiracy, and now the media is playing as if I am colluding with the Ministry of Justice to plot something," and explained, "They were completely wrong."
He further explained, "While giving a special lecture in Gongju, Chungnam, and having a pleasant dinner in Sejong City before returning home late, I glanced at social network services and briefly copied and pasted someone else's post," and "An acquaintance who saw my post informed me that it was not a statement from the Ministry of Justice and could cause misunderstanding, so I immediately took down the post and corrected it."
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