"Are They Sane?" Hwang Kyo-ik Criticizes Supporters of Cho Kuk Launching 'Protect Cho Kuk Party'

Jogeuk Suhodang Founding Committee "Will Create an Organization to Protect Jogeuk from Deep-rooted Forces"
Jogeuk "Not Involved in Party Formation... Focusing on Revealing the Unfairness of Prosecutor Indictment"

Hwang Kyo-ik, Food Columnist / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik raised his voice of criticism, calling the supporters of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who are preparing to launch the 'Jo Guk Suho Party' (tentative name), "out of their minds."

On the 10th, Hwang posted an article titled "Supporters of Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk Register the Preparatory Committee for the Jo Guk Suho Party" on his Facebook, expressing this view.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC) on the same day, the Preparatory Committee for the Jo Guk Suho Party was registered on the 4th. The committee chairpersons are Park Jung-kyung and Lee Tae-geon, who previously served as spokesperson for Lee Hoi-chang's presidential campaign and spokesperson for the Democratic Party's Daejeon branch.

In the founding statement, the committee claimed, "The public could only watch in dismay as about 100 prosecutors, who live off the state budget simply because they lead reforms, mobilized and conducted months-long inhumane atrocities, even searching through a child's diary."

They added, "The current situation is clearly diagnosed as an indiscriminate war waged by conglomerates, media, prosecutors, and conservative political groups rooted in anti-national pro-Japanese forces against the democratically elected government. We intend to take the lead on this front." They further stated, "We aim to overcome the limitations of established political forces and create a new political organization to protect the nation from deep-rooted evils with a clear historical consciousness and decisive action."

However, former Minister Cho Kuk himself stated that he is not involved in the formation of the party using his name. In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Cho dismissed claims linking him to the establishment of the Jo Guk Suho Party, saying, "I am not participating in or involved with any party formation activities."

He continued, "I am focusing on taking care of my family, who have been devastated by the prosecution's investigation, and on proving the unfairness of the prosecution's indictment in court based on facts and legal principles."