Seoul: The decision by President Lee Jae Myung to grant a special pardon to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk prompted a guarded welcome from the ruling bloc, but Cho's comeback is likely to have an impact on the nation's political landscape, particularly ahead of next year's local elections. Cho, who was found guilty of academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection that sparked massive protests in 2019, was among the high-profile figures who will be granted special pardons on the occasion of Liberation Day on Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the pardon would allow Cho, an ally of former President Moon Jae-in and who established the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, to cut short a two-year prison term and restore his civil rights. Cho's political comeback is expected to pose a dilemma for the ruling Democratic Party (DP), with the potential to reshape power dynamics within the ruling bloc and sway centrist and young voters. A Realmeter poll released this week showed Lee's approval rating has fallen, in what is seen by many as a sign of public sentiment among young people and moderates.
Cho's scandal under the previous Moon administration, which had championed fairness and social justice, had sparked widespread public outrage, particularly among the youth, raising concerns that his pardon could trigger a renewed backlash. The minor Justice Party criticized the pardon in a public statement, saying Lee's decision "lacks public consensus" given that Cho had failed to apologize or even acknowledge his corruption scandal. "Cho's special pardon will negatively affect the DP's already weak support among young voters," a DP lawmaker from the greater Seoul region said. "The president will take responsibility politically, but the youth feels betrayed by this decision."
Political observers say Cho could also run in next June's local elections, posing a challenge for the DP, which has been aiming for a sweeping victory in key battlegrounds under Lee's leadership. Cho's comeback, coupled with his party fielding candidates in DP strongholds like Jeolla Province, could split the ruling bloc's vote and weaken the attainment of the DP's goal. Speculation is mounting over his possible run for Seoul or Busan mayor in next year's local elections or a parliamentary by-election bid in Incheon Gyeyang-B, Lee's former constituency.
Cho's party has already demonstrated its potential, defeating the DP in the April by-election for Damyang county chief in South Jeolla Province, even in his absence. Nevertheless, Lee's decision to grant the pardon to Cho reflects his calculation that rejecting it could trigger an even bigger backlash with growing public support for Cho's pardon among political and religious circles and Moon's public call for clemency. Lee is also likely to have considered the fact that if Cho's special pardon were pushed back to the end of the year, it could fuel accusations of interference ahead of next year's local elections.
Meanwhile, pro-Lee lawmakers hailed the pardon as a symbolic step in line with Lee's prosecutorial reform drive to reverse what they consider as politically motivated investigations under the previous Yoon government. "Cho had to endure great hardship and suffering due to the political prosecution's unreasonable investigation and indictments," senior DP spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said during a press briefing. "It is only right to restore the honor of the victims of political prosecution and to put such prosecutors back in their place." Rep. Kang Deuk-gu also celebrated Cho's pardon, saying it symbolizes the "end of the insurrection and restoring of democracy," as well as fostering national unity.
Lee is now faced with a double whammy of assuaging centrist and conservative sentiment in the wake of the pardon and preventing divisions within his own support base as Cho's resurgence alters the ruling bloc's political map. Cho was on a list of more than 830,000 people who will receive special pardons, including his wife, Chung Kyung-sim, who received a suspended sentence for forging documents related to her son's college admission. Other politicians who received special pardons include former lawmaker Choe Kang-wook, who was convicted of issuing a false internship certificate for Cho's son, and former Rep. Youn Mee-hyang, who was convicted of embezzling funds donated to help support women who were forced into wartime sexual slavery by Japan during World War II.
The presidential office explained that the pardons were intended to ease social tensions heightened by former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration last December and to help revive the stagnant economy.