Choo Mi-ae: "President Lee's Approval Rating Fell Because of Prosecution Reform—There Is No Other Reason"

[Financial News] Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae asserted that President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell "because of prosecution reform."
Appearing on the YouTube channel 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the morning of the 10th, Governor Choo was asked why President Lee's approval rating had declined. She replied, "I believe the president's approval rating is falling because of prosecution reform, and there is no other reason."
Governor Choo began by saying, "When we lost national sovereignty, achieving independence was the most important reform for people's livelihoods. Later, democratization became the most important such reform. Now, prosecution reform is that reform, and I believe it is more important than constitutional revision."
She continued, "If we worry about a backlash over prosecution reform—the first reform of our time—every concern will converge on that issue, and that is probably how supporters feel."
Some in political circles have criticized the organizational plan for the Prosecution Office, which would maintain the number of prosecutors and establish a Judicial Control Division, calling it "a ploy to revive investigative powers." In response, Governor Choo said, "Maintaining the organization in its existing prosecution-centered structure reveals the prosecution's true intentions: it regards the introduction of the democratic judicial principle of checks and balances through the separation of investigation and prosecution as a fiction." She added, "I believe two support staff members for every three prosecutors would be sufficient."
Regarding the appointment of Kim Ji-yong as a candidate to head the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, she also criticized him by referring to his experience on the investigative team in the case involving the travel ban on Kim Hak-eui, saying, "Putting someone whose specialty is distortion upon distortion in a position that requires strong investigative skills is the height of contradiction."
Meanwhile, Governor Choo explained the fiscal crisis in Gyeonggi Province, which she has consistently emphasized since taking office. "Gyeonggi Province is a local government that does not receive local allocation tax and relies mainly on real estate acquisition tax. Yet various areas across the province have been designated as land transaction permit zones, while the government is currently pursuing a public housing policy, so tax revenue continues to decline," she said. "That is why we need to overhaul the local tax system, and I have also explained this need to the president."
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter