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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Cho Kuk Warns of Possible Guilty Verdict for Lee Jae-myung, Sparking Tensions Ahead of Merger Talks

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Cho Kuk said Lee Jae-myung could face a guilty verdict in a retrial and warned that forcing the withdrawal of the case could create political and legal problems.
  • Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok called the remarks harmful to cooperation, while saying an alliance remained certain but a merger was undecided.
  • The dispute has exposed tensions between Lee’s Democratic Party and Cho’s Innovation Party as they consider closer cooperation before the general election.

Cho Kuk has issued a warning that cuts directly into the political partnership built by President Lee Jae-myung and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party: forcing the withdrawal of Lee’s election-law indictment could end badly, he said, because a guilty verdict in the second trial remained highly possible.

We opened a channel inside our party to the Innovation Party and said we should begin talks.

· Kim Min-seokThe Democratic Party leader said his party had begun communication with Cho Kuk’s party.

Cho made the comments on Facebook on the 1st, referring to the case that was suspended after the Supreme Court sent it back for reconsideration. He also criticized the government’s changes to its real-estate tax proposal, asking whether non-resident owners of expensive single homes would really support the Democratic Party and the government after what he called a retreat.

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok responded on the party’s official YouTube channel, Democratic Party TV. “We opened a channel inside our party to the Innovation Party and said we should begin talks,” Kim said. “An alliance is certain, but whether there will be a merger remains completely undecided.” He added, “It would be better to be careful with remarks that hinder the alliance.” Planning and Budget Minister Park Hong-keun said the two parties had the same roots and described the Innovation Party as a possible ally that could help fill the Democratic Party’s shortcomings.

An alliance is certain, but whether there will be a merger remains completely undecided.

· Kim Min-seokKim distinguished between cooperation and the unresolved question of merging the parties.

Lee posted on X that changing a policy position was not necessarily unjust while sticking to one was not automatically right. The presidential office said the post was not directed at Cho and sought to prevent the dispute from widening. At the same time, officials there said they viewed Cho’s criticism as a “red team” role, while suggesting that his attacks might also serve to restore his profile after losing a parliamentary by-election in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in June.

It would be better to be careful with remarks that hinder the alliance.

· Kim Min-seokHe criticized Cho Kuk’s comments about Lee Jae-myung’s legal case.

The dispute comes as the two parties discuss a possible merger before the general election. A ruling-party official said the Democratic Party wanted an absorption merger, while the Innovation Party was likely to press for a share of electoral nominations. Concerns have also emerged that the public clash could divide supporters just as Lee has pursued broader governing-party unity through a reorganization involving six ministries, the presidential office and presidential bodies.

A red team role

· Presidential office officialThe office said it respected Cho Kuk’s critical role while also suggesting his remarks could raise his political profile.
About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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