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Choo Mi-ae

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Choo Mi-ae
Choo in 2026
Governor of Gyeonggi Province
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2026
Preceded byKim Dong-yeon
Minister of Justice
In office
2 January 2020 – 27 January 2021
PresidentMoon Jae-in
Prime MinisterLee Nak-yon
Chung Sye-kyun
Preceded byCho Kuk
Kim Oh-soo (acting)
Succeeded byPark Beom-kye
Leader of the Democratic Party
In office
27 August 2016 – 25 August 2018
Preceded byMoon Jae-in
Kim Chong-in (Interim)
Succeeded byLee Hae-chan
Member of the National Assembly
In office
30 May 2024 – 29 April 2026
Preceded byChoi Jong-yun (Hanam, Gyeonggi)
Succeeded byLee Kwang-jae
ConstituencyHanam A (Gyeonggi)
In office
30 May 2008 – 29 May 2020
Preceded byKim Hyung-ju
Succeeded byKo Min-jung
ConstituencyGwangjin B (Seoul)
In office
30 May 1996 – 29 May 2004
Preceded byKang Soo-lim (Seongdong C, Seoul)
Succeeded byKim Hyung-ju
ConstituencyGwangjin B (Seoul)
Personal details
Born (1958-10-23) 23 October 1958 (age 67)
Daegu, South Korea
PartyDemocratic
Alma materHanyang University
Yonsei University
Signature
Websitewww.choomiae.com
Korean name
Hangul
추미애
Hanja
秋美愛
RRChu Miae
MRCh'u Miae

Choo Mi-ae (Korean: 추미애; born 23 October 1958) is a South Korean politician who has served as the governor of Gyeonggi Province since 2026. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), she was the party's leader from 2016 to 2018. Choo also served as the minister of justice from 2020 to 2021.

She 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. She is also 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.

In 1996, she became the first woman to represent a constituency in Seoul 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 Moon Jae-in got elected as the President of South Korea during her term in 2017, Choo became the first woman to be the leader of a ruling party. In 2018, she 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.

Choo was elected Governor of Gyeonggi Province in the 2026 South Korean local elections with a comfortable 16-point margin, and will become the first female head of a South Korean first-level administrative region government in the history.

Political career

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Entry into politics

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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.[1] 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,[1] and also became the first female member of the National Assembly to have served as a judge—followed by Na Kyung-won in 2004.[2]

1999 Jeju uprising inquiry

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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.[3] She participated in a memorial service for the uprising in 1998, and chaired the first public inquiry into the events the next year.[4] 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.[3]

Party leadership contests and 2004 election campaign

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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.[5] She 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.[6] After originally rejecting the role,[7] she was appointed head of the party's election campaign committee less than three weeks before the 2004 parliamentary election.[8] 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.[9][10] She lost her seat in the election.[11]

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.[11] She pushed to broaden and deregionalize the party, and enjoyed broad public support,[11] but ultimately placed second behind Chung Sye-kyun.[12]

Foreign affairs

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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.[13] Choo visited the United Kingdom in November 2010, giving lectures at Chatham House and the University of Cambridge on future policy in the Korean Peninsula.[13][14]

Electoral history

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General elections

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Election Year Constituency Party affiliation Votes Percentage of votes Results
15th National Assembly General Election 1996 Seoul Gwangjin B National Congress for New Politics 36,570 43.77% Won
16th National Assembly General Election 2000 Seoul Gwangjin B Democratic Party (2000) 42,787 57.35% Won
17th National Assembly General Election 2004 Seoul Gwangjin B Democratic Party (2000) 26,973 30.08% Lost
18th National Assembly General Election 2008 Seoul Gwangjin B Democratic Party (2008) 34,854 51.29% Won
19th National Assembly General Election 2012 Seoul Gwangjin B Democratic United Party 45,980 55.19% Won
20th National Assembly General Election 2016 Seoul Gwangjin B Democratic Party of Korea 43,980 48.53% Won
22nd National Assembly General Election 2024 Gyeonggi Hanam A Democratic Party of Korea 51,428 50.58% Won

Local elections

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Governor of Gyeonggi

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Election Year Constituency Party affiliation Votes Percentage of votes Results
9th Iocal Election 2026 Gyeonggi
(Governoral Elections)		 Democratic Party of Korea 3,760,080 55.04% Won

Controversies

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Choo's son is accused of receiving favors during his military service.[15] In 2016, she was convicted guilty for violation of Public Official Election Act due to spreading false information.[16][17]

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.[18] Prosecutors have also criticized her broader proposed restructuring of prosecutors' offices.[19]

While classified as being part of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, she has been accused of expressing negative views towards feminism.[20]

Personal life

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Choo is a Buddhist.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Politics & Power: South Korea". Asiaweek. 5 November 1999. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ruling party lawmaker tries to shake off 'elitist' image". The Korea Herald. 4 October 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2016. [Na] thus became the second female judge-turned-lawmaker, following the steps of Rep. Choo Mi-ae ...
  3. 1 2 Kim, Hunjoon (2009). "Seeking Truth after 50 Years: The National Committee for Investigation of the Truth about the Jeju 4.3 Events". The International Journal of Transitional Justice. 3 (3): 418. doi:10.1093/ijtj/ijp014. hdl:10072/34402.
  4. ↑ Kim, Hunjoon (2008). Expansion of Transitional Justice Measures: A Comparative Analysis of Its Causes (Ph.D.). University of Minnesota. p. 248.
  5. ↑ "Key S Korean political party elects new leader". Taipei Times. 30 November 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "MDP Chough, Choo Fail to Narrow Differences". KBS World Radio. 26 March 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Choo rejects MDP campaign role". Korea JoongAng Daily. 23 March 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Scofield, David (31 March 2004). "The dawning of pluralism in South Korea". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 7 April 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Sunshine Policy should remain intact to secure peace: Rep. Choo Mi-ae". The Korea Times. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Glass ceiling outlasts Madam President". The Korea Herald. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 "Opposition Leadership Race Taking Shape". The Korea Times. 4 May 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Lansford, Tom, ed. (2014). "Republic of Korea". Political Handbook of the World 2014. CQ Press. p. 779.
  13. 1 2 "Leading female politician to deliver Ra Jong-Yil Lecture". University of Cambridge. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Finding the Legacy and a Vision for Modern Politics in the Korean Peninsula". Chatham House. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Alleged special favor for Choo's son revealed". Korea JoongAng Daily. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  16. ↑ '선거법 위반' 추미애 대표 벌금 80만원…의원직 유지(종합). Korea Yonhap News. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  17. ↑ '선거법 위반' 추미애 대표 2심도 벌금 80만원…의원직 유지. Korea Yonhap News. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Justice minister defends decision to block indictment disclosure". The Korea Times. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Prosecutor General lashes out at Choo over proposal". The Korea Times. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  20. ↑ "페미에 반대한다" 추미애 발언…"문제적"이란 비판 잇따라. The Hankyoreh. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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