Park "Political environment won't allow living for 2 years"
Cho Kuk, Imprisonment as early as 16th
Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted that former leader of the Innovation Party Jo Guk, who was sentenced to imprisonment by the Supreme Court, will definitely be pardoned and reinstated when a new administration takes office.
Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
According to political circles on the 14th, Park said on KBS Radio’s ‘Jeonggyeok Sisa’ the day before, “The political environment will not let former leader Jo serve two years,” expressing confidence that he will be pardoned and reinstated under the next administration.
Earlier, former Innovation Party leader Jo Guk was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court for charges related to his children’s admission fraud and covering up Blue House inspections. If he serves the full two years and is released, his eligibility to run for office will be revoked for the next five years, preventing him from running in the upcoming presidential election as well as the 2028 23rd general election.
Regarding former leader Jo, Park said, “He himself accepted the verdict exactly,” and added, “How clean he is. Without any resistance, he is truly Jo Guk, and I highly respect that.”
He continued, “I told former leader Jo, ‘If you go to prison and live through it, you will become stronger. You will be reborn as a mass politician. So, as President Kim Dae-jung said, don’t be discouraged but take this as an opportunity for a turnaround and come out.’”
Park also emphasized their close relationship, saying, “Former leader Jo and I are personally close,” and “I even received warnings from the party for siding with former leader Jo.”
The People Power Party strongly opposed the remarks, calling them “very inappropriate.” Kwak Gyu-taek, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, verbally commented, “It is only right that criminals pay for their crimes,” and criticized, “Yet the Democratic Party is already talking about a ‘new administration’ as if they have taken power, mentioning the presidential authority of pardon and reinstatement, showing a reckless play for power.”
He added, “Moreover, Park himself is also a defendant on trial for attempting to cover up the shooting of government officials in the West Sea and for ‘labeling them as defectors to the North,’” and pointed out, “Park should refrain from making remarks that undermine the foundation of the rule of law.”
On the 12th, the Supreme Court upheld the original sentence of two years in prison for former leader Jo, who was indicted on charges including bribery and abuse of authority. This is about five years after the ‘Jo Guk incident.’ Accordingly, former leader Jo lost his parliamentary seat and is expected to be incarcerated around the 16th.
In April, former leader Jo appeared on Kim Eo-jun’s YouTube channel and said that if he is imprisoned after the guilty verdict is confirmed, he will “read the books I couldn’t read because I was busy with trials and politics, do push-ups, squats, and planks, and take good care of my health before coming out.” The day before, he also said, “I prepaid 333 drinks at ‘Monthly Coffee Yeoui Main Branch’ for Innovation Party members and citizens coming to the Yeouido rally on the 14th,” adding, “Use my name to receive them. A small farewell gift.”
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