"Already registered for next semester's classes... No intention to quit everything and go to the National Assembly"
Professor Lee Su-jeong of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University is speaking at the 1st meeting of the Future United Party's Special Committee on Sexual Violence Measures held at the National Assembly on August 20. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University, who serves as the co-chair of the People Power Party's joint election campaign committee, has rebutted various allegations surrounding her recruitment, stating, "Incorrect information needs to be corrected."
On the 1st, Professor Lee said on YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Start of a New Morning,' "I have been receiving malicious comments from both the left and right, so I wondered, 'Did I really do something to deserve this much criticism?'"
She expressed her frustration, saying, "Although my husband and (candidate Yoon) were university classmates, we went abroad for studies after marriage, and he worked as a prosecutor for a long time, performing very different duties. One is a lawyer, and the other has been a lifelong prosecutor, so where does this story of us being close friends even come from?"
She continued, "It’s absurd to say I was accepted into the campaign committee just because I am the wife of one of the 200 university classmates..." She added, "If I were not a woman, would these kinds of comments be made? I was very outraged reading those comments. I don’t understand why being someone's classmate is such an important issue."
Regarding reports that her son is a prosecutor, she said, "My son called me yesterday complaining, 'I never pretended to be a prosecutor, so why is the news saying I am one? Did you ever say that, Mom?'" She emphasized, "Let me clarify once again that both my husband and my son are lawyers."
Professor Lee stated, "People say I am a pro-prosecution figure because of my connections with the prosecution, but that is not true at all. My son served three years in the military as a military prosecutor. So, he did serve as a prosecutor. But what I realized then was that although he graduated from law school just like female legal officers, why was a female legal officer appointed as a captain while my son could only be a first lieutenant? It was blatant discrimination."
Responding to criticisms that she has political ambitions, she said, "When someone is too focused on their own world, they tend to think everyone else thinks the same way. I believe my profession is not something trivial that I can easily give up."
She drew a clear line, saying, "For those who want to be members of the National Assembly, going to the Assembly might be their dream, but I have already registered for all my classes next semester. I am currently teaching five courses, and I have no intention of abandoning all that to go to the National Assembly."
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