Choi Minhee's Daughter Held Wedding at National Assembly Last Weekend
Congratulatory Wreaths from Supervised Organizations Spark Controversy over "Card Payment" Feature
"I Couldn't Pay Attention to Family Matters... I Will Be More Careful in the Future"
The daughter of Choi Minhee, a member of the Democratic Party and chairperson of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee, held her wedding at the National Assembly on October 18, during the parliamentary audit period. The event drew controversy as congratulatory flower wreaths from organizations under the committee’s oversight lined the venue, and the mobile wedding invitation included a “card payment” feature. At the committee’s audit on October 20, Park Junghoon, a member of the People Power Party, mentioned the congratulatory wreaths at Choi’s daughter’s wedding and remarked, “I believe this was highly inappropriate behavior.”
Choi Minhee, member of the Democratic Party and chairperson of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee. Photo by Yonhap News
It is reported that about 100 flower wreaths were lined up at the wedding venue. Most of these wreaths were sent by organizations under the committee’s supervision, such as the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and the Korea Communications Agency. Companies including KT, LG Uplus, Naver, and Hyundai Motor Company also sent wreaths. In particular, after criticism that the “card payment” function in the mobile invitation was excessive, the feature was reportedly removed a few days later.
Park stated, “It felt as if this wedding was Chairperson Choi’s declaration that ‘I am the queen of the National Assembly,’” and criticized, “Chairperson Choi is not qualified to preside over this audit.” He added, “Receiving congratulatory wreaths and monetary gifts from supervised organizations and showing this to the public during the audit poses a significant conflict of interest. If she had considered how this would appear to the public, she would not have made such a decision.”
He continued, “It is customary for politicians to either invite only close acquaintances to their weddings or to include a note declining flower wreaths and monetary gifts. I cannot understand what gave her the confidence to act this way. Even now, I urge her to resign from her position as committee chairperson.”
Chairperson Choi responded, “I suppose I should say something.” She revealed a text message from her daughter sent the day before the wedding, stating, “The wedding is tomorrow,” and explained, “My daughter took the lead in all these matters, and even when she told me the date, I forgot, so she insisted I attend. Later, she called and asked me to stay until the end.”
Chairperson Choi added, “If you look at my questions, you’ll see that as a liberal arts major, I’ve barely been able to sleep at night because I’ve been studying quantum mechanics. I study quantum mechanics and post-quantum cryptography every day, and I’ve practically memorized cryptographic communications.” She continued, “I truly haven’t been able to pay attention to household matters or my daughter’s wedding. If I had been my usual meticulous self, I would have said, ‘Don’t accept wreaths, don’t do this or that,’ but I simply didn’t have the time to be thorough, and that’s why this happened. I have two children, both are now married, so it’s difficult for me to say, ‘I won’t accept any wreaths.’ I will be more careful in the future.”
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