1. Choo Mi-ae is a South Korean politician who served as the minister of justice as well as five-term congresswoman and 3rd leader of the Democratic Party.
15 Facts About Choo Mi-ae
1. 2.
Choo Mi-ae is the first woman to hold the post after Kang Kum-sil who was appointed by then-president Roh Moo-hyun, a political mentor of the incumbent Moon Jae-in.
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Choo Mi-ae is one of handful congresswomen who have served five or more terms at the National Assembly and the first to do so without ever being elected through proportional representation.
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Choo Mi-ae has represented the same constituency since then except for four years between 2004 and 2008.
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Choo Mi-ae left her position in protest of government pressure to bring judgements against pro-democracy activists, and joined the opposition National Congress for New Politics.
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Choo Mi-ae entered the National Assembly in the 1996 elections as a member of the National Congress.
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Choo Mi-ae 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.
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Choo Mi-ae participated in a memorial service for the uprising in 1998, and chaired the first public inquiry into the events the next year.
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Choo Mi-ae came into conflict with Chough in the succeeding months in the crisis over the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, with Choo urging Chough to step down over the events.
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Choo Mi-ae's 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.
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Choo Mi-ae pushed to broaden and deregionalize the party, and enjoyed broad public support, but ultimately placed second behind Chung Sye-kyun.
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Choo Mi-ae 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.
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Choo Mi-ae visited the United Kingdom in November 2010, giving lectures at Chatham House and the University of Cambridge on future policy in the Korean Peninsula.
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Choo Mi-ae's son is accused of receiving favors during his military service.
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Choo Mi-ae has been criticized for her controversial step of not fully disclosing indictments against President Moon Jae-In's allies, of which she is one.