[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, embroiled in controversy over the leak of the Ministry of Justice's position paper draft related to the exercise of investigative command authority, clarified the issue on the 10th by revealing her KakaoTalk and Telegram messages.
In a post on her Facebook that day, Minister Chu said, "There have been strange doubts raised repeatedly about the text I wrote, so I will clarify it clearly," and disclosed screenshots of her KakaoTalk and Telegram messages.
The conversation included the draft of the position paper directly written by Minister Chu, followed by the spokesperson's office reporting back the draft and the revised version.
Minister Chu stated, "The time I was reported that the proposal came from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was 6:22 PM," and added, "At 6:40 PM, I wrote a text indicating it was different from the instructions and sent it via KakaoTalk. After confirming the alternative content from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which included the investigation team, I sent an additional revised text at 7:22 PM to clarify my intentions more precisely."
She continued, "The instructions were immediately shared through the Ministry of Justice Telegram chat room, and apart from the instruction text I sent, a separate message created by Ministry of Justice executives arrived at 7:39 PM. Both were approved, and I ordered their disclosure."
She further explained, "Therefore, usually the minister's secretariat disseminates via SNS, and the Ministry of Justice spokesperson's office notifies journalists, so there is no other point that could cause misunderstanding in this case," adding, "If false reports continue to damage credibility by alleging connections with specific lawmakers, appropriate measures will inevitably be taken, and I am informing you of this in advance."
On the 10th, Chu Mi-ae, Minister of Justice, who was embroiled in controversy over the leak of a draft statement regarding the exercise of investigative command authority, posted screenshots of KakaoTalk and Telegram conversations on her Facebook page. Photo by Chu Mi-ae Facebook capture
Earlier, before Minister Chu announced the position paper to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl regarding the 'prosecutor-media collusion' case investigative command authority, Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, posted a draft of the minister's position paper on his Facebook, raising suspicions that internal discussions within the Ministry of Justice were held with ruling party figures.
As the controversy spread, the Ministry of Justice explained on the 9th, "The minister gave instructions to release (notify reporters and disclose the position paper) and was understood to release both versions (the draft and the revised version), but the spokesperson's office only released the revised version," adding, "At the time of the spokesperson's office release, some staff mistakenly believed both the draft and the revised version were released and disseminated this around. Subsequently, the 'draft' was posted on multiple SNS platforms, including Leader Choi's Facebook post."
Meanwhile, despite the Ministry of Justice's explanation, opposition parties continue to fiercely criticize this as a 'second political scandal.'
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