Cho Kuk "I Was Happy Like It Was My Own Case Hearing Lee Jae-myung's Acquittal on TV" Letter from Prison

Cho Kuk's Prison Letter Revealed
"Respect to the Court That Acquitted Lee Jae-myung"
"Political Disputes Should Be Settled by Politics... Not Criminal Law"

Former leader of the National Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, expressed through a letter from prison, "I pay my respects to the appellate court that acquitted Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea."

Former Representative of the Innovation Party, Cho Kuk. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

On the 28th, a letter written by Cho on the 26th was revealed on his Facebook. He said, "I was delighted as if it were my own news when I heard the appellate court's acquittal of Lee Jae-myung on election law violation charges through the TV in my solitary cell," adding, "Since my academic days, I have stated that the crime of false information disclosure is a legal provision that suppresses politics by dragging political disputes into criminal punishment and therefore should be abolished."

He continued, "Lee Jae-myung had to endure tremendous suffering due to the prosecution's targeted investigation and indiscriminate indictment," and said, "There are not many people who feel that pain as deeply as I do."

Cho pointed out, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration's relentless and cruel attacks aimed at destroying a presidential contender who was a former rival and the leading opposition party leader were persistent," and "The far-right and conservative vested interests, led by the People Power Party, united with the prosecution to attack and curse Lee."

Cho stated that although Lee's 'judicial risk' has been resolved by this appellate court ruling, the 'demonization of Lee Jae-myung' will continue, and insisted, "The crime of false information disclosure must be abolished."

A letter from former Representative Cho Kuk of the Innovation Party from prison. Former Representative Cho's Facebook

He said, "Political disputes should be resolved through 'politics,' not through 'criminal law,'" and added, "The fate of politics and politicians primarily depends on the hands of the prosecution and ultimately is decided by which court they face." He emphasized, "This must be resolved legislatively. The autonomy of politics must be restored."

Cho also raised his voice, saying, "Prosecutorial reform must be completed." He defined the election law violation indictment as "an incident where the entire prosecution acted to cut off the lifeline of the leader of the largest party, who is likely to push forward prosecutorial reform, in line with the president's intention to eliminate a presidential rival."

He criticized, "The prosecution, which did not send a single prosecutor to the warrant hearing for Presidential Security Chief Kim Seong-hoon, sent about ten prosecutors to the court for Lee's case to maintain the indictment," calling it "a model of discriminatory and biased exercise of prosecutorial power."

Furthermore, Cho said, "Here, I am performing 108 prostrations praying for the Constitutional Court's swift ruling," and added, "I ask the people to unite their hearts in their own ways. The people will win again."