Cheong "Fairness is the President's usual will... No value in responding to opposition criticism"

President Moon says "Fairness" 37 times on the 19th
Cheong says "Concrete fairness, not just words"
Regarding Chu Mi-ae's claim, "Do not link them"

President Moon Jae-in is delivering a commemorative speech at the 1st Youth Day ceremony held at the Green Garden of the Blue House on the morning of the 19th.

Regarding the opposition party's criticism that President Moon Jae-in, who mentioned 'fairness' 37 times at the 1st Youth Day commemorative ceremony, "has no right to talk about fairness," the Blue House stated, "We do not see any value in responding to the opposition party's political attacks one by one."

A senior Blue House official told reporters on the day, "The president was expressing his usual commitment to fairness," adding, "It takes time for fairness to take root in our society, and even if there are trial and errors or conflicts, we will steadily unite our efforts to resolve and move forward." The official further added that President Moon emphasized "not just fairness in words, but actual concretized fairness."

Regarding President Moon's mention of efforts to eradicate military service corruption, the Blue House also said, "It was not a statement made with any specific controversy in mind." This drew a line against interpretations that the president's remarks on military service were related to allegations of preferential treatment during the military service of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son.

The official explained, "The president's remarks related to military service were made with a comprehensive background including requests for appointments and respected military life."

President Moon Jae-in is stepping down from the podium after delivering a commemorative speech at the 1st Youth Day ceremony held on the morning of the 19th at the Blue House's Nokjiwon.

Additionally, the Blue House dismissed some views that the 2nd National Intelligence Service, Prosecutor's Office, and Police Reform Strategy Meeting, chaired by President Moon on the 21st, was "to support Minister Choo Mi-ae."

The official said, "We hope you do not link this meeting to the current political situation," and added, "In the case of prosecutorial and police reform, the Moon Jae-in administration did not leave it to the prosecution and police but assigned the responsibility to the ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which are the relevant departments."

He further explained, "Accordingly, the ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will attend tomorrow's meeting, so it is inappropriate to see it as a meeting to empower anyone," and described it as "an event to secure momentum for reforming power institutions."

This meeting is being held for the first time in about 1 year and 7 months since the 1st meeting, with Minister Choo attending. Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is not a participant. The Blue House said that the meeting will cover overall issues related to power institution reform, including progress on the establishment of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HICO), adjustment of investigative authority between prosecution and police, and promotion plans for the autonomous police system.