(C) JTBC

 
SEOUL — Police have formally initiated an investigation into Rep. Choi Min-hee, the chairperson of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee (SBC), a member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The investigation stems from a major controversy regarding wedding gifts (known as chuk-eui-geum or 축의금) received during her daughter's wedding, which took place at the National Assembly during the critical annual parliamentary audit period.

The Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul has begun actively collecting testimony. On November 7, they summoned and questioned Kim Se-ui, the operator of the YouTube channel Garo Sero Institute, who filed the initial complaint against Rep. Choi on October 27. The accusations include violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (commonly known as the Kim Young-ran Act) and abuse of power.

Upon arriving at the police station, the accuser, Kim, sharply criticized Rep. Choi's defense. "The argument that there's no crime because she returned the congratulatory money is like a thief claiming innocence because they returned the stolen goods," Kim asserted. He further indicated that he would present evidence showing that numerous organizations under the SBC’s audit scope—including broadcasters like MBC and telecommunications companies—were aware of and acknowledged the wedding date early on.

Rep. Choi’s daughter was married at the Sarangjae, a traditional Korean house within the National Assembly complex, on October 18. The controversy escalated when Rep. Choi’s initial public statement on October 20, in which she tried to explain her lack of attention to the details by saying she was consumed by her SBC duties—claiming she was "barely sleeping while studying quantum mechanics" as a humanities major—was met with widespread public skepticism and derision.

The scandal gained traction on October 26, when the Seoul Shinmun newspaper captured a photograph of Rep. Choi using the Telegram messaging app to send a list containing the names and monetary amounts of contributors, including staff from large corporations and media outlets, to her aides. Her office immediately claimed that the communication was a directive "to instruct the aides to return the congratulatory money."

The core of the legal investigation is the potential violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The act strictly prohibits public officials from receiving money or gifts exceeding KRW 1 million (approximately $750 USD) from the same person in a single instance, regardless of work-related context. The wedding gifts, especially from individuals affiliated with institutions subject to the SBC's oversight, could be seen as falling under the purview of prohibited acceptance of financial benefits.

The conservative People Power Party also filed a formal complaint against Rep. Choi on November 3, adding to the legal pressure. Additionally, the civic group Seominminsaeng Emergency Action Committee filed a similar complaint on October 29.

Police plan to continue the investigation with further summons in the coming days. They are scheduled to interview a representative from the Seominminsaeng Emergency Action Committee on November 10, followed by a representative from the People Power Party’s Media Legal Team on November 11. The police are methodically building their case by gathering testimony from all the complainants before potentially calling in Rep. Choi herself for questioning. The developing scandal raises serious ethical questions about the conduct of high-ranking public officials and the strict standards imposed by the anti-graft legislation.