Choo Mi-ae "Not true at all... Will take legal action"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] On the 2nd, Attorney Shin Pyeong repeatedly apologized, saying, "I think that the discrepancy in memories between Minister Choo Mi-ae and me may have been influenced by discriminatory consciousness against women," regarding his previous claim that "Minister Choo Mi-ae cried bitterly when she was assigned to a provincial post upon her appointment as a judge." Earlier, Attorney Shin, a former judge, claimed on the 27th of last month that Minister Choo, upon being assigned to her first post at the Chuncheon District Court in 1985, went to the Supreme Court's Judicial Administration Office and protested while crying bitterly, saying it was a "heard story."
In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Attorney Shin said, "I recently posted that Minister Choo Mi-ae, during her early days as a judge, vehemently protested her provincial assignment with tears," adding, "It is unfair and excessive to bring up an event that happened 35 years ago to criticize her today."
He continued, "Watching the ongoing prosecution reform, the uncomfortable feelings that had been building up over several days exploded toward the person at the center of the reform," and confessed, "The expressions I wrote about Minister Choo's personal tendencies to add impact to the criticism were clearly wrong."
However, he insisted that it was true that Minister Choo expressed dissatisfaction with the provincial assignment. Attorney Shin said, "A senior member of the Democratic Party asked Minister Choo about this, but she said she never went to the Judicial Administration Office to complain about personnel matters," adding, "This is completely incompatible with the fact engraved in my mind, but it remains in Minister Choo's memory."
He added, "Minister Choo would not have lied," and said, "(However) if I fabricated words that contradict my memory with malicious intent, peaceful conversations with friends cannot be explained."
Attorney Shin also said, "Young Judge Choo must have expressed dissatisfaction in some way about the principle of assigning female judges to their first posts in the Seoul area, which had been given before but was broken starting with her," and "However, hearing only the results, I also unconditionally sided with the Judicial Administration Office's position and had a negative perception of Judge Choo."
He then said, "How could the 'hidden macho' inside me not have acted in this process? As I grow older, I repeatedly reflect deeply and repent for the things I did in the past," and emphasized again, "In my (faith) life, I mistakenly thought I had overcome macho consciousness. I want to sincerely and honestly apologize to Minister Choo once again."
Nonetheless, Attorney Shin also criticized Minister Choo's prosecution reform separately from his apology. He said, "Apart from this apology, I cannot suppress strong criticism of the prosecution reform led by her," and criticized, "The current prosecution and judicial reforms have taken the wrong direction and the content is also flawed."
Finally, he stated, "This should not be," and said, "Attempts to suppress criticism of the living power and prevent addressing its corruption are truly shameful."
Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is responding to lawmakers' requests for document submission at the National Assembly Judiciary Committee plenary meeting held on the afternoon of the 27th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, Minister Choo Mi-ae refuted Attorney Shin's claim on the 29th of last month that she cried bitterly while protesting her provincial assignment and went to the Judicial Administration Office, saying, "I did not even go to receive my judge appointment certificate under the illegitimate new military regime."
Minister Choo wrote on her Facebook, "Now even the memories of my youth are being taken away. I did not go to the Judicial Administration Office to cry and protest the unfairness of my assignment; rather, I did not attend the appointment ceremony that day."
On the 28th, Minister Choo also denied the media reports that she "cried bitterly" and announced that she plans to take legal action against Attorney Shin.
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