Choo Mi-ae (; born 23 October 1958) is a South Korean politician who served as the

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

as well as five-term congresswoman and 3rd leader of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to hold the post after Kang Kum-sil who was appointed by then-president

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

, a political mentor of the incumbent

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

. She is also one of handful congresswomen who have served five or more terms at the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

and the first to do so without ever being elected through proportional representation. In 1996, she became the first woman to represent a constituency in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

since the Constitution was last revised as well as the first female ex-judge to be elected as a congresswoman. She has represented the same constituency since then except for four years between 2004 and 2008. Choo unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of her party twice in 2003 and 2008. In 2016, she became the leader of Democratic Party. When

got elected as the

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (), is the head of state and head of government of South Korea. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of South Korea, government and is ...

during her term in 2017, she became the first woman to be the leader of a ruling party. In 2018, he became the first leader of her party to complete its fixed term of two years. Additionally, she was the first female leader of her party and its first leader raised in TK region.

Political career

Entry into politics

Before her involvement in politics, Choo served as a district court judge for 12 years. She left her position in protest of government pressure to bring judgements against pro-democracy activists, and joined the opposition National Congress for New Politics. She entered the National Assembly in the 1996 elections as a member of the National Congress. She crossed regional barriers by being elected as a liberal despite originally hailing from the conservative stronghold of

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

, and also became the first female member of the National Assembly to have served as a judge—followed by Na Kyung-won in 2004.

1999 Jeju uprising inquiry

Choo became notable early in her career as an assemblywoman for being one of the first national politicians to draw public attention to the events of the 1948

Jeju uprising The Jeju uprising (in South Korea, the ''Jeju April 3 incident'', ) was an insurrection on Jeju Island, South Korea from April 1948 to May 1949. A year prior to its start, residents of Jeju had begun protesting elections scheduled by the Un ...

. She participated in a memorial service for the uprising in 1998, and chaired the first public inquiry into the events the next year. During the debate, Choo released a 200-page dossier listing 1,650 people who had been court-martialed for assisting the "communist rebellion" in Jeju. Her release of the papers marked the first time any official government document on the uprising had been released to the general public.

Party leadership contests and 2004 election campaign

Having served in the assembly for seven years, Choo ran for chairman of the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003, coming in second place behind Cho Soon-hyung. She came into conflict with Chough in the succeeding months in the crisis over the impeachment of President

, with Choo urging Chough to step down over the events. After originally rejecting the role, she was appointed head of the party's election campaign committee less than three weeks before the 2004 parliamentary election. Her fight against regionalism in the party and her management of the party's campaign for the 2004 election during the impeachment crisis earned her the nickname "Choo d'Arc", comparing her to

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

. She lost her seat in the election. After her re-election to the Assembly in 2008, Choo stood again for the leadership of the United Democratic Party at the party convention on 6 July 2008. She pushed to broaden and deregionalize the party, and enjoyed broad public support, but ultimately placed second behind Chung Sye-kyun.

Foreign affairs

Choo has served as a member of the Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and in 2003, she was appointed special envoy to the United States on the North Korean nuclear crisis. Choo visited the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in November 2010, giving lectures at

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

on future policy in the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

Election history

Controversies

Choo's son is accused of receiving favors during his military service. In 2016, she was convicted guilty for violation of Public Official Election Act due to spreading false information. Choo has been criticized for her controversial step of not fully disclosing indictments against President Moon Jae-In's allies, of which she is one. Prosecutors have also criticized her broader proposed restructuring of prosecutors' offices. While classified as being part of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, she has been accused of expressing negative views towards

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Personal life

Choo is a Buddhist.

References

External links

Choo Mi-ae
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Choo, Mi-ae 1958 births Living people Hanyang University alumni People from Daegu South Korean Buddhists South Korean women judges Yonsei University alumni Women opposition leaders Jeonju Chu clan Women government ministers of South Korea Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Democratic Party of Korea politicians Justice ministers of South Korea Female justice ministers Women members of the National Assembly (South Korea)