Rival political parties showed mixed reactions to the prosecution’s decision to drop graft charges against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and her son. 

Ruling Democratic Party(DP) Spokesman Choi In-ho issued a statement on Monday welcoming the prosecution’s conclusion, accusing the main opposition People Power Party(PPP) of raising unreasonable suspicions and triggering protracted political strife.  

Choi demanded the opposition party to apologize to the public and end what he called an age-old political practice of making groundless accusations. 

The PPP, on the other hand, protested the prosecution’s announcement and called it a “very political decision” and demanded a reinvestigation by an independent counsel. 

PPP Spokesperson Kim Eun-hye relayed the stance in a statement and argued it was not coincidental that the prosecution made the announcement at a time when the public was distracted by the killing of a South Korean official by North Korea. 

Claiming that it was difficult from the beginning to expect the prosecution to go against the incumbent justice minister, the PPP spokeswoman called for a special investigation, saying it is the only path to truth.