Cho Kuk: "Shin Jang-sik, with a 'drunk driving record,' as the first recruit? Focused on progressive political activities"

Joguk New Party Aims to Secure 10 Seats in General Election
"Promote Roh Hoe-chan's Vision and Prolong Yoon Administration's Lame Duck Period"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk revealed that although he was aware of lawyer Shin Jang-sik's controversies regarding drunk driving and driving without a license, he focused on Shin's image as a progressive politician who had worked alongside the late lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan when recruiting him as the first talent for the tentative Cho Kuk New Party.

On the 26th, Cho said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "Shin had a drunk driving record from 2006 to 2007, but there were no personal or property damage accidents at that time," adding, "Shin withdrew from the Justice Party's proportional representation candidacy four years ago because of this, so I was also aware of it." He explained, "I paid attention to Shin Jang-sik as a progressive politician who had long worked with the late lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan. Although Shin is mainly known as a broadcast host, he was a key activist in progressive parties, serving as the secretary-general of the Justice Party."

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial on charges including admission fraud involving his children and covering up the Blue House inspection, is attending the appellate court sentencing hearing held on the 8th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Regarding Shin's role within the party, Cho said, "Since he has been active following the political line of the late lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, he will play a role in informing citizens about Roh's political line and vision, as well as in ending the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."

Cho added, "If a political force capable of firmly and strongly fighting against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is formed through the general election, cracks will appear in the Yoon administration," explaining, "The intention is to create a lame duck status for the Yoon administration as soon as possible, even if not through impeachment or constitutional amendment." He continued, "In the case of the Park Geun-hye administration, it ended with impeachment, but politically it had already become a lame duck and then a dead duck before that," adding, "Our goal is to politically weaken the Yoon administration quickly to a dead duck state."

The Cho Kuk New Party aims to secure 10 seats in the general election. Cho claimed, "In the last general election, the Open Democratic Party had a considerably high initial approval rating, but it dropped when the Democratic Party of Korea formed the Together Citizens' Party. The Cho Kuk New Party is better prepared and has a well-established organizational system than the Open Democratic Party."