Democratic Party Slams Cho Kuk for Saying President Lee Could Be Convicted on Appeal

The Democratic Party reacted angrily to Cho Kuk’s prediction that President Lee Jae-myung could receive a guilty verdict when his appeal trial resumes after his term in office.

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We are at a time when a comradely unity should be achieved by discussing cooperation and a merger with the Cho Kuk Innovation Party.

Park Sung-joon, the party’s chief spokesperson, said on June 2 that the Democratic Party and Cho Kuk Innovation Party should be moving toward a “comradely unity” through discussions on cooperation and a possible merger. He said the party was “very concerned” about remarks made at such a time.

Criticism also came from the party’s leadership. Supreme Council member Park Sun-won called Cho’s comments “deeply regrettable,” saying they could not be the language of a comrade. He added, “What is it that has left you so resentful? I can only call it ingratitude.”

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I am very concerned about remarks made at such a time.

Park Ji-won, a five-term Democratic Party lawmaker, wrote on social media that Cho was once again “beating the kitchen range while asleep,” a Korean expression for making an irrelevant or absurd remark. He said he was frustrated that someone once considered clever was acting this way and urged Cho to “return to the Cho Kuk we once liked.”

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It is deeply regrettable. This cannot be the language of a comrade.

Cho, who heads the Cho Kuk Innovation Party’s Institute for Innovation Policy, had written the previous day that the chances of a guilty verdict in Lee’s appeal trial after his presidency were “very high.” He also warned that forcing through a withdrawal of the prosecution would lead to political and legal trouble.

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The chances are very high that a guilty verdict will be handed down in the appeal trial that will resume after President Lee’s term.