"Not Just Pro-Yoon, but Unfit for Public Office": Choo Mi-ae Launches Fierce Attack

[Anchor]

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party, who has publicly criticized Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the Major Crime Investigation Agency, launched a direct attack during the parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province. Governor Choo stated that nominee Kim is "not just a pro-Yoon prosecutor, but unfit for public office," adding that "it would be a historical mistake" if she remained silent.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

At the parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province yesterday (October 13).

When a conservative opposition lawmaker asked whether she still viewed nominee Kim Ji-yong—who has become a flashpoint for internal conflict within the broader ruling camp—as a "pro-Yoon prosecutor," Governor Choo, a member of the ruling party, delivered a resolute, direct retort.

[Choo Mi-ae / Gyeonggi Province Governor: "He is not just a pro-Yoon prosecutor, he is unfit for public office, for that post."]

Although President Lee Jae-myung and ruling Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok had publicly urged restraint, Governor Choo did not halt her criticism.

[Choo Mi-ae / Gyeonggi Province Governor: "Because I believed that remaining silent despite knowing this would be a historical mistake."]

Questions and answers also ensued over who President Lee was targeting in a social media post where he remarked, "They indulge in luxury with ordinary citizens' hard-earned tax money while slashing welfare budgets for the vulnerable."

[Joo Ho-young / People Power Party Lawmaker: "There are pointed questions about whether the post the President shared on social media was aimed at Governor Choo."]

[Choo Mi-ae / Gyeonggi Province Governor: "I have never lived a life where I indulge in luxury while causing harm to others, so I do not think it was aimed at me."]

People Power Party lawmakers charged that Governor Choo was "abandoning provincial administration to focus on central politics,"

[Park Sang-woong / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Weren't these 100 days spent abandoning Gyeonggi Province's affairs and lurking around the central political stage?"]

[Choo Mi-ae / Gyeonggi Province Governor: "I want to state that there has not been a single shred of negligence in provincial administration."]

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party also took issue with Governor Choo's fiscal emergency declaration for Gyeonggi Province and her welfare budget cuts.

[Lee Kwang-hee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Criticism that instead of consultation and consensus taking center stage, there is unilateral dominance...."]

[Kim Young-bae / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "One of the national tasks is fiscal expansion. The supplementary budget cut pursued by the governor runs contrary to this."]

[Choo Mi-ae / Gyeonggi Province Governor: "What frustrated me the most upon receiving the public livelihood budget proposal was that there was not even meal support for underfed children."]

When a People Power Party lawmaker asked about the confirmation hearing for nominee Kim Ji-yong taking place today (October 14), Governor Choo replied that she had been waiting for the hearing and that if they wanted to conduct it properly, they should call her as a witness.

(Video by Oh Young-chun and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.