As if someone copied … The statement of Chu Mi-ae, the Ministry of National Defense and Panbaki

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae said on the 13th that his son Seo-mo’s suspicion of returning to the military unit was “I really apologize to the public” and “(regarding the son’s suspicion) there was no reason for violating the procedure. ” .

◇ Chu Mi-ae “I never broke the procedure,” the legal community “suggested investigation guidelines”

Minister Chu said on his Facebook page that day that “the truth must be clearly revealed through the investigation of the prosecution. The prosecution must not be aware of anyone, but should only serve the people to reveal the substantive truth. “. Said.

At the same time, Minister Chu emphasized that “there are no procedural problems” with regard to the allegations related to his son. “Nobody in the military wants to get sick on purpose. The army was well prepared to care for the sick soldier and regulations also recommend maximum treatment. “There is no reason to break the procedure. In this process, as some suspected, the prosecution is investigating whether there was illegality and I wait in silence.

In response to Minister Chu’s remarks, there is criticism in the legal community that he “in fact provided guidelines for the investigation.” A lawyer for a branch head said: “The Minister of Justice, who is my superior, gave the prosecution guidelines for the investigation, indeed, indirectly, for the investigation related to him. “There is no problem with the procedure,” he said. A lawyer said, “The reason that Minister Chu initiated the investigation command in the ‘Channel A case’ and excluded President Yoon Seok-yeol was that the target of the investigation was a close friend of President Yoon (the prosecutor Han Dong-hoon) “. As it is a case that is also under investigation, the current position of Minister Chu is likely to be a problem. “

The case is currently under the control of Seoul East District Prosecutor Kim Kwan-jeong, who was appointed last month by Minister Chu through an interim prosecutor. Ji’s prosecutor, Kim, has been involved in this case since he was Chief of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in January, and is suspected of trying to reduce the investigation of this case. Kim Ji-won, who is also known to have defended Cho Kook, a former Justice Minister, is said to have responded to this case by asking “Is this a crime?”

◇ Silence on the central suspicion … Position and judgment of the Ministry of Defense ‘legal procedure’

On the 10th, the Ministry of National Defense announced a position that it was a ‘legitimate procedure’ for the first time regarding the suspicion of Minister Chu’s son. The extension of your child’s sick leave does not violate the “Basic Law Enforcement Decree on the Status and Service of Korean Citizens” and the “Health Insurance Health Care Order for Active Veterans”.

However, the Ministry of National Defense was silent on the key issues of this issue, such as’ how to evaporate Seo’s sick leave record ‘,’ how assistant Choo Mi-ae called the unit ‘and’ if the of guard and Mr. Seo were talking. ‘ All three issues are necessary to determine whether external pressure has acted on the extension of vacation days, but this has been addressed.

However, the position of the Ministry of Defense is suspected that the Democratic Party together with the Ministry of National Defense coordinated it in advance in consultation with the party government. In this regard, the Democrat Hwang-hee, who attended this event, wrote on Facebook on the morning of the 13th: “It is not true that the Vice Minister of National Defense and the Secretary of the Democratic Party of the Defense Committee of the National Assembly of the National Assembly to hold a political-party discussion for a briefing by Minister Chu. “

Shortly after Representative Hwang took this stance, Minister Chu announced a similar position with the Ministry of National Defense, saying: “We recommend treatment as much as possible even in military regulations” and “There is no reason to violate the procedure. “. In the statement, Minister Chu did not explain why he or her husband called the complaints office of the Defense Ministry before the extension of their son’s sick leave and what he said. Minister Chu’s defense attorney insisted that “it was not a talk” in the media.

◇ “The prosecution must be reformed” … refusal to resign

Minister Chu also emphasized the reform of the prosecution service and indirectly said that he had no intention of resigning. Minister Chu said, “I have kept the principles in the face of any adversity, and I will keep this principle as my life now and in the future.” “It is the will of the people and my fateful responsibility to take full responsibility for the reform project of the prosecution without trembling. I will certainly complete the reform of the prosecution service. “

However, lawyers criticized that “the core of the ‘prosecution reform’ is the ‘political independence of the prosecution’ and, in fact, it is contradictory that Minister Chu, who intervened in individual cases, proposed the ‘reform of the prosecution ‘as a cause of maintaining the ministerial position. “

When Minister Chu mentioned his family history on this day, he also seemed to appeal to “sensitivity.” She said: “My husband is a disabled person with discomfort in his legs due to a traffic accident,” she said. “But even my son had both legs operated on,” she said. “He returned to the unit without a cure. As a mother, why don’t you worry about your child suffering from rest for life? “

Following her husband, Minister Chu complained that he also had discomfort in his legs. He wrote: “I have never said that black is white,” he wrote. “If there was a mistake in judging the situation, I apologized.” Just before the 2004 general election, Minister Choo served three days in Gwangju as an apology for the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.

Minister Chu said, “My legs were hurt and I couldn’t wear high shoes,” and he said, “It is not the shame that I, my husband and my son want to hide from people, but I want to be able to confidently overcome difficulties. I’m going to reflect. “