An Min-seok: "Kim Tae-woo's Pardon Is for the General Election... Targeting Cho Kuk"

"Will Grow Bigger by Attacking Cho Kuk"
"Will Avoid Running for District Mayor... Will Run for Assembly or Proportional Representation"

Regarding the pardon of former Seoul Gangseo District Mayor Kim Tae-woo, who was convicted for leaking secrets learned in the course of official duties to the media, three months after his guilty verdict was finalized, Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Min-seok pointed out that "Kim's pardon is for the general election."

On the 17th, Ahn said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' that "From our perspective, Kim Tae-woo is a traitor, but from the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's point of view, he is one of the key contributors to the birth of the administration."

Ahn Min-seok, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Former Mayor Kim was prosecuted for leaking secrets related to the Blue House Civil Affairs Office's Special Inspection Team in 2018, and in May of this year, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of one year in prison with two years of probation. He lost his mayoral position but was pardoned through the Liberation Day special pardon.

Lawmaker Ahn predicted that Kim would continue to grow his influence by attacking former Minister Cho Kuk. He said, "They targeted Cho Kuk through Kim Tae-woo," adding, "Kim Tae-woo will be used as Cho Kuk's hunting dog."

This is because Kim immediately launched attacks against former Minister Cho rather than showing remorse after his pardon. Ahn said, "Right after the pardon, former Mayor Kim did not express remorse but instead made very sharp remarks attacking former Minister Cho," and added, "Going forward, Kim will continue to attack Cho Kuk, expanding his influence and securing his political space."

Regarding whether Kim would run in the Gangseo District mayoral by-election, Ahn said, "I don't think he is solely aiming for the mayoral position," and added, "Rather than recklessly running for mayor, he will likely bide his time, attacking former Minister Cho and former President Moon Jae-in, acting as the ruling party's hunting dog until the general election, and secretly considering running in Gangseo for the general election."

Ahn also saw proportional representation as an alternative. He said, "We must win this general election by any means, and I think it is possible to give Kim a proportional representation seat so that he can act as a hunting dog attacking our opposition nationwide during the election period," adding, "From Kim's perspective, he will try to avoid running for mayor."