Chae I-bae on the 'Cho Kuk Incident': "Had a chance to apologize but missed it"
Kim Yong-min: "Say I lost because of my comment on sexual bribery"
Hwang Kyo-ik: "If the Democratic Party abandons Cho Kuk, I will abandon the Democratic Party"
Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk is attending the continuation trial on his children's admission corruption case at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on January 14. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As voices reflecting on the 'Cho Kuk incident' have emerged again within the Democratic Party following the presidential election defeat, there are also voices of opposition mainly among ruling party supporters.
On the morning of the 16th, Chae I-bae, an emergency committee member of the Democratic Party, said at the emergency committee meeting held at the Democratic Party Gwangju City Party Office in Seo-gu, Gwangju, "The Moon Jae-in administration, born from impeachment and candlelight protests, initially received overwhelming support from the public, but we lost the people's trust due to personnel failures, double standards, and unfairness. We reflect on this and apologize," adding, "I believe the biggest trigger was the Cho Kuk incident."
He pointed out, "(The Democratic Party) had an opportunity to reflect and apologize," saying, "When the Supreme Court ruling on Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim came out last January, the Blue House and the Democratic Party should have reflected and apologized to the public. But even that opportunity was missed."
He continued, "From now on, we will become a Democratic Party that does not practice double standards. Even on matters where judicial judgments have been concluded, we will not show cowardly attitudes by blaming the prosecution's sweeping investigations," he emphasized.
In response, Kim Yong-min, chairman of the Peace Tree and former member of 'I am a Ggomsuda,' and food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik voiced criticism.
Kim, who caused controversy with his remarks about 'sexual bribery' involving Kim Geon-hee, wife of President-elect Yoon Seok-youl, said, "Go ahead and shift the responsibility for the presidential election defeat onto me."
On the same day, through his Facebook, he said, "'The Cho Kuk responsibility theory' might come up even after losing the local elections, and it might appear again in the 22nd general election and the 21st presidential election," adding, "If the 'Cho Kuk responsibility theory' is correct, shouldn't there have been a crushing defeat in the 2020 general election? What did Cho Kuk do? Did he run for office? Did he join the party? Isn't he quietly just undergoing trial? Why drag in someone unrelated to the party three years ago and stab us in the back?"
He further protested, "Just shift the responsibility for this presidential election defeat onto me," and said, "Say we lost because of the sexual bribery remarks."
Also, Hwang Kyo-ik wrote on Facebook, "They might have gained points by attacking 'Cho Kuk.' Their victory could be thanks to attacking 'Cho Kuk.' But don't say that 'Cho Kuk' should have been abandoned," adding, "I can't say that Cho Kuk committed no sins. Cho Kuk also apologized. But I don't think Cho Kuk's sins are so grave as to deserve complete ruin."
He continued, "It's not entirely wrong to say that if 'Cho Kuk' had been abandoned, they would have won. But I can't do that. If the Democratic Party abandons 'Cho Kuk,' I will abandon the Democratic Party," adding, "How can you trust a party that has no minimum sense of comradeship?"
Meanwhile, Hwang Hee-du, who served as the digital spokesperson for the Democratic Party's election committee and is also a director at the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, criticized on his Facebook, "I wonder how clean the lives of politicians who blame everything on Cho Kuk really are," adding, "I understand well that reflecting on complex intertwined real issues and one's own shortcomings is not easy, but how long do we have to watch them blame Cho Kuk at every opportunity?"
He added, "If you apply the same standards as those applied to the Cho Kuk family, who could possibly survive? When you look closely, people seem to talk very easily about other people's lives."
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