[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Choo Mi-ae, a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that right after stepping down from her position as Minister of Justice last year, she "was just starting to get a fever and was so furious that the lid blew off," and added, "Then, when the by-election defeat was blamed on Cho Kuk and me, I was so baffled that I felt empty inside."
On the 20th, former Minister Choo appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and shared her feelings at the time of stepping down from the ministerial post last year.
Earlier, on December 16 of last year, amid conflicts with former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over prosecutorial reform, former Minister Choo had directly tendered her resignation to President Moon Jae-in.
She also said that she calmed her mind by preparing a dialogue book with Professor Kim Min-woong of Kyung Hee University's Future Civilization Institute. She explained, "By exchanging conversations back and forth with Professor Kim, I was able to see the situation, organize my thoughts, talk a lot, and empty my mind, which helped me reflect on myself."
Candidate Choo said, "No matter how much I explain, they don't listen, and it doesn't make a difference. They've already labeled it as the Choo-Yoon conflict. Fine, then if I raised Yoon Seok-youl, I'll catch him."
Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae appeared on TBS Radio's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" on the 20th. Photo by TBS Radio's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" broadcast capture.
When host Kim Eo-jun asked, "Isn't your candidacy because of former Prosecutor General Yoon?" former Minister Choo replied, "Of course," and assessed, "Anyway, Yoon Seok-youl is like a pheasant falling."
Former Minister Choo expressed confidence regarding the rising support for fellow party candidate Lee Nak-yeon. She said, "There is an analysis that as the pheasant (former Prosecutor General Yoon) starts to fall, the votes lost are going to candidate Lee Nak-yeon," adding, "Because of the recent (Lee Jae-myung) pants incident, some female votes might have gone to candidate Lee. But all those votes will eventually come to me. I see it as just a temporary stay."
Regarding the assessment that she was favorable to Governor Lee in the early stages of the primary, she responded, "I didn't particularly protect anyone. Whether it was Governor Lee or anyone else, I gave out the nomination certificates when I was party leader. I raised them all," and added, "I hope that expressions crossing the boundaries of decency in the primary, such as personal insults, are not used when I am around."
When asked to mention her weaknesses, she joked, "Having no weaknesses is a weakness." Then former Minister Choo said, "Because I have been steadily walking forward with reform without hesitation, when I looked back, there was no one. There are no lawmakers supporting me," and revealed, "The lack of backing power and feeling somewhat lonely are my weaknesses."
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