"Not Even a Communist Party Member"... Bae Jeong-nam Reuploads Amid Controversy Over 'Jo Guk Autobiography' 인증샷

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Model-turned-actor Bae Jeong-nam posted a photo on his social media (SNS) certifying the purchase of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's autobiography, Tears of Dike, and when controversy arose, he reposted the same photo saying, "Can't I even read a book freely?"

Photo by Bae Jeong-nam Instagram

On the 14th, Bae posted on his Instagram story about Tears of Dike (Cho Kuk's Appeal Against the Korean Prosecution), which former Minister Cho published on the 30th of last month. Since stories disappear after 24 hours, the post is no longer available, but debates continued online.

Noticing the controversy, Bae wrote, "Ah, the book is interesting. Can't even read a book freely? Even the Communist Party, oh really. Let me read a bit," tagging former Minister Cho's account directly in the post.

Tears of Dike is a book written from the perspective of Cho Kuk as a private individual, not as a law professor or minister, recounting his experiences over the past ten years.

The publisher introduced the book as "a work that condenses the struggles faced by Cho Kuk, law professor, who studied law and reflects on the true meaning of study, passing through a stormy decade as a private individual."

Photo by Yonhap News

The book sparked controversy starting with its title. The title was accused of plagiarism for its similarity to former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop's book titled The Eye of Dike.

Gwak Dae-jung, spokesperson for the new party New Choice, previously posted on his SNS an article titled "Cho Kuk's Ethics," raising plagiarism suspicions by saying, "There is a book written by former lawmaker Geum titled The Eye of Dike. Former Minister Cho is releasing a new book titled Tears of Dike." He particularly pointed out that Cho Kuk himself wrote the recommendation for The Eye of Dike.

In response, former Minister Cho said, "The title of my new book was taken from a 2010 Hankyoreh column," adding, "I find the new party's noise marketing bitter and pitiful." He also shared a past column he wrote titled Dike is Crying.