"Legal Elites Cannot Accept a President from a Child Laborer Background"
"Ruling That Will Be Cheered by Those Who Led or Supported Insurrection"
Cho Kuk, former leader of the Innovation Party, strongly criticized the Supreme Court's decision to remand the case of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, for violating the Public Official Election Act with the intention of a guilty verdict, calling it a "clear intervention in the presidential election" and urging the public to respond with their choice.
In a prison letter released on May 2 via Facebook by Hwang Hyunseon, Secretary General of the Innovation Party, Cho pointed out that "the Supreme Court's ruling on Lee's appeal regarding the charge of spreading false information proceeded too quickly." He argued that since the verdict was delivered just one month before the presidential election, "both the timing and content clearly reveal a political agenda."
Former Cho Kuk, former leader of the Innovation Party, who is imprisoned on charges including admission bribery for his children and covering up Blue House inspections, released a prison letter stating, "The Supreme Court ruling is an intervention in the presidential election." Yonhap News
He also claimed that Korea's judicial system is excessively interfering in politics. Cho stated, "In the United States and many other OECD countries, the crime of spreading false information does not even exist," adding, "Partial false statements that occur during political disputes are not subject to punishment, but merely to fact-checking." He went on to criticize, "Unelected legal elites are intervening in politics and disrupting the landscape."
Cho cited the case of former Brazilian President Lula, stating that "the prosecution and the judiciary imprisoned a president from a working-class background and disrupted the presidential race in what was a 'judicial coup,' and this case resembles that bad precedent." He asserted, "The legal community, centered on Seoul National University Law School and legal elites, is unwilling to accept the rise of Lee Jae-myung, a former child laborer, to the presidency," and claimed that "hatred of Lee Jae-myung underlies this verdict."
Regarding the ruling by Judge Ji Guyoun on the impeachment crisis of President Yoon Suk-yeol, Cho also argued that it was "the result of political calculation rather than a legal judgment." He expressed concern that this series of rulings "is empowering Yoon Suk-yeol and those who support insurrection."
He further wrote, "I felt the 'hatred of Lee Jae-myung' among the top legal elites," adding, "It seems as if there are voices saying that while Yoon Suk-yeol, a Seoul National University and legal elite, was removed from office for his reckless actions, they cannot bear to see Lee Jae-myung, a former child laborer, become president."
In conclusion, he stated, "Democracy is not a juritocracy. The interpretations of legal elites cannot stand above the people's right to choose," and appealed, "The people are the sovereign, and the final choice belongs to them. On June 3, in the presidential election, please demonstrate the sovereign's decision."
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