Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Man-hee in Prosecutor General's Office... Chu Mi-ae Covers Eyes for '1-Minute Performance'

Yoon Raises 'Shincheonji Search Warrant Refusal Suspicion' Again
Choo Mi-ae Calls Prosecutor General's Superior Action a 'Show'
"I Bypassed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for Shincheonji Server Forensic Data"

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae appearing in a YouTube video created by supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate / Photo by 'Jaemyungine Super' YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae made a surprise appearance and delivered a passionate performance in a YouTube video created by supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, drawing attention. In this video, directed like a daily drama, former Minister Choo once again raised suspicions that Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, refused to conduct a search and seizure of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), when he served as Prosecutor General.

The YouTube channel 'Jaemyung's Supermarket,' run by Lee's supporters, released a video about one minute long on the 14th titled 'Jaemyung Netflix Mini Drama: The Sin of Loving Manhee.'

The video, which begins with the phrase "The characters and organizations appearing in this video are closely related to reality," features former Minister Choo. Sitting at a desk with a nameplate reading 'Minister of Justice,' she is seen talking on the phone with someone, exclaiming, "Why can't the search and seizure be conducted?" and "What is more important than the lives of the people right now?"

After hanging up the phone, former Minister Choo moves somewhere. Ignoring objections from those around her, she opens a door labeled 'Prosecutor General's Office.' As she shouts, "Why did you hang up the phone? Why are you refusing the search and seizure..." she enters the room but suddenly screams in shock, covering her eyes with both hands.

The video then ends by showing the surprised expressions of candidate Yoon and Lee Man-hee, the Shincheonji chairman.

Former Minister Chu once again raised the suspicion of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, refusing the Shincheonji search through this video. / Photo by Jaemyeongine Super YouTube capture

The background music is 'Love Sick' by the group FT Island. Especially, the lyrics "The sin of loving you so much / The sin of loving you so much" are emphasized along with the subtitle "The sin of loving Manhee, next episode." This is presumed to be a pun based on the similarity in pronunciation between 'manhee' (meaning 'a lot') and 'Manhee' (the name).

This video appears to target the 'refusal to conduct search and seizure of Shincheonji' allegations raised in 2020 when candidate Yoon was Prosecutor General.

In February of the same year, as COVID-19 cluster infections surged among Shincheonji followers in Daegu, the 'National Shincheonji Victims Solidarity' (Jeonpiyeon) accused Shincheonji of obstructing epidemiological investigations by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (the predecessor of the KDCA) by falsifying the number of followers and filed complaints against Chairman Lee Man-hee and others with the prosecution, increasing public calls for a forced investigation of Shincheonji.

Subsequently, then Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae ordered former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to conduct a search and seizure of Shincheonji, but Yoon took a cautious stance and did not comply.

Candidate Lee (left) and Candidate Yoon are rehearsing ahead of the second presidential candidate TV debate on the afternoon of the 11th. / Photo by Yonhap News

The 'refusal to conduct search and seizure' allegation was brought up again by Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung during the second presidential candidate TV debate on the 11th. When he asked if Yoon refused the search and seizure based on advice from a shaman, candidate Yoon responded, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that if 300,000 followers rebel, management would be impossible. I asked (former Minister Choo) to postpone the forced investigation."

He also targeted former Minister Choo, saying, "The Minister of Justice's order for the search and seizure was a complete show. The order was made public to the media," and added, "Rather than a search and seizure, Shincheonji's servers were entirely taken out and sent to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, and digital investigators from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office conducted forensic analysis for a month."

In response, former Minister Choo strongly opposed, calling it "an outrageous remark showing a lack of understanding of state affairs."

On the 14th, appearing on YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Morning Start,' she said, "It is an outrageous remark for the Prosecutor General to call the minister's order a show."

She continued, "The claim that digital forensic analysis was conducted on Shincheonji's servers is 100% false," and countered, "The forensic data was collected when Lee Jae-myung was governor of Gyeonggi Province. I bypassed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and dispatched agents to Sejong City to carry out the forensic analysis myself."