Park Soo-hyun's ‘Choi Min-hee Shield’ Backfires with Hypocrisy, Politician Faces Public Outcry Amidst Dual Standards. Hanmi Ilbo Graphic

As the controversy surrounding wedding congratulatory money for the daughter of Choi Min-hee, chairwoman of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, and Broadcasting Committee of the Democratic Party, escalates, Park Soo-hyun, the party's chief spokesperson, defended Rep. Choi on the 28th by quoting a biblical verse: "Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone." However, public opinion has reacted with a chorus of "throwing fuel on the fire."

On the same day, Chief Spokesperson Park posted on Facebook, "Isn't it enough now?" and suggested, "Anyone can make a mistake." He quoted John 8:7, writing, "Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone." However, criticism continues to mount that he is attempting to shield a public official's financial controversy with religious rhetoric.

Previously, Rep. Choi's daughter held her wedding ceremony at Sarangjae in the National Assembly on October 18th, during the parliamentary audit period. The mobile invitation included a feature for credit card payment of congratulatory money, and the controversy intensified when it was revealed that congratulatory money and flower wreaths were received from institutions under the committee's oversight. On the 26th, criticism reignited when Rep. Choi was spotted in the plenary session hall reviewing a 'list of congratulatory money' received from her aides. Rep. Choi's side explained, "It was a measure to return the congratulatory money received from institutions," but the People Power Party demanded her resignation, calling it "a clear conflict of interest."

Online public opinion exploded. One netizen (sung****) criticized, "Thieves only abound in a den of thieves," and called the attitude of the Democratic Party "the true face of a party that thinks laws can be changed if something is a crime." Another user (lym6****) directly stated, "Soo-hyun, don't quote the Bible carelessly. You'll end up covered in filth." Comments such as "If you had no intention of accepting it, you shouldn't have accepted it in the first place" (c****) and "The people are without sin. The people will strike you down with stones" (wjdr****) followed, showing an overwhelming wave of public anger.

However, this issue is not merely a controversy over a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Legally, taxation and criminal liability vary depending on whose income the congratulatory money is considered. According to a legal interpretation by the National Tax Service, if congratulatory money at a wedding is collected based on the social connections of the hosts, i.e., the parents, the money is considered the parents' property. If the parents transfer the received congratulatory money to their children, it is regarded as a gift. The Inheritance and Gift Tax Act imposes taxes if more than 50 million won is gifted to a child over a 10-year period. Therefore, it has been pointed out that if the amount collected at Rep. Choi's daughter's wedding exceeded a certain standard, it could be subject to gift tax.

Even if the wedding is organized in the child's name, the general legal principle is that if guests recognized that the host is a member of the National Assembly and gave congratulatory money, the actual ownership rests with the parents. In fact, the Supreme Court ruled in a 2006 decision that "if wedding congratulatory money is received based on the social standing of the host, it is considered the parents' property, not the child's income."

Consequently, this controversy opens the door not only to exceeding the '50,000 won limit' of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act but also to the possibility of gift tax evasion and concealment of assets. Ultimately, legal disputes can only be resolved by disclosing the actual amount of congratulatory money exchanged, who managed it, and where it was returned.

Some in the political sphere are also raising issues of fairness.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation Party, was subjected to search and seizure on charges of inciting rebellion solely for posting a single line on social media on December 4th of last year: "Arrest Speaker Woo Won-shik." In contrast, the criticism is fierce that the attitude of protecting a ruling party lawmaker suspected of receiving money from an oversight institution by saying, "Let the sinless cast stones," undermines the fairness of the law and constitutes a double standard.

Ultimately, this incident is not just a personal transgression by a member of the National Assembly, but a test of how far the ethical sensitivity and legal accountability structure of public service have collapsed.

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