단상斷想

Former Minister Cho Kuk was released from prison today under a special Liberation Day amnesty. No matter how much I think about the special amnesty on Liberation Day for the former Minister of Justice 7 years later, I wonder if they even support the Lee Jae-myung government. I'm curious as to what benefits Cho Kuk will be able to gain from Moon Jae-in's absurd actions of passing it on to the politically irrelevant Lee Jae-myung government and the interference of progressive YouTubers who created this scenario. I am also curious about what the basis is for the public's understanding of the political commentators who demanded legal relief for a cabinet member of the government two terms ago from the people's sovereignty government that is only two months old. The necessity for the public to address this issue is because the fate of the nation, whether it will be ruined or prosper as post Lee Jae-myung, will be determined by the level of voters, who are the last bastion of the democratic system, the flower of modern politics.

Public opinion on the pardon of Cho Kuk is sharply divided. The progressive camp supports the pardon from the perspective of 'just relief for victims of political repression,' while the conservative camp strongly opposes it, calling it 'preferential treatment for the privileged class.' In particular, the center expresses negative reactions, expressing 'doubts about fairness' and 'discomfort with special treatment.' This division of public opinion reflects a fundamental value conflict over fairness and the rule of law in Korean society, going beyond the evaluation of Cho Kuk as an individual. The progressive camp defends Cho Kuk through the frame of 'the prosecution's political investigation' and 'the counterattack of the conservative vested interests,' while the conservative camp criticizes the pardon with the frame of 'equality before the law' and 'privilege consciousness.'

Moon Jae-in's performance of demanding amnesty for Cho Kuk overlapped with the first day of the investigation into Kim Keon-hee's special prosecutor, which means that Moon Jae-in himself voluntarily admitted for the first time that he was the 'Oyaji' of the birth of the Yoon Seok-yeol government. The public must carefully judge whether Moon Jae-in, who decided to become brothers with YouTuber Kim Eo-jun, took action for Cho Kuk's amnesty to unite the remaining pro-Moon factions and Moon Jae-in's situational politics through Cho Kuk in the future, or whether it was a gag order on Moon Jae-in's personal debt to Cho Kuk. Either way, it is right to see that voters are being manipulated. Even if Moon Jae-in, with his clumsy image, aimed for both, it is also true that he made a bad move after much deliberation by calling for Cho Kuk's amnesty on Kim Keon-hee's memorial day. It is necessary to take a cold look at who 'Cho Kuk' is important to enough to steal the spotlight from the photo line of a smelly former prostitute.

The pardon of Cho Kuk is a compressed representation of the complex power structure and ideological conflicts in Korean politics. Behind this decision lies the continued pressure and demands from the pro-Moon Jae-in faction, centered around former President Moon Jae-in. Moon Jae-in's repeated remarks to Cho Kuk that "he owes him a debt" go beyond personal feelings, and it is interpreted that he had his own calculations to both clear his personal sphere and protect his political achievements through the pardon of Cho Kuk, who was a key figure during the Moon Jae-in administration. The demands for Cho Kuk's pardon from key pro-Moon figures such as Chung Cheong-rae and Kim Eo-jun appear to stem from a strategic judgment directly related to the political survival of the entire pro-Moon faction, rather than personal favor. To them, Cho Kuk is a figure symbolizing the reform will and progressive values of the Moon Jae-in administration, and his reinstatement means the restoration of the political legitimacy of the entire pro-Moon faction.

So, did President Lee Jae-myung genuinely want this pardon? This is one of the most crucial questions in current Korean politics. Outwardly, it appears to be the president's decision, but behind it, there seem to be complex political calculations and inevitable compromises. From President Lee Jae-myung's perspective, this decision not only includes pardons based on the demands of pro-Moon factions but also aims to express the Lee Jae-myung administration's commitment to prosecutorial reform by pardoning victims of judicial injustice caused by the dictatorial prosecution.

The pardon of Cho Kuk is a decision that entails clear political risks. Public opinion on the pardon is clearly divided, and negative reactions were expected, especially from the center and conservative groups. In fact, the decline in both the President's approval rating and the Democratic Party's approval rating after the pardon announcement can be seen as a realization of these concerns. More important is the change in the power structure within the Democratic Party. Park Chan-dae's defeat in the party's leadership election, who was a representative figure of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, is a symbolic event showing the weakening of the pro-Lee Jae-myung forces' influence. In a situation where the political standing of key pro-Lee Jae-myung figures is shaken by the slow pace of Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho, etc., the pardon of Cho Kuk is likely to act as an even greater burden on the pro-Lee Jae-myung forces.

The pardon of Cho Kuk has elevated the conflict between pro-Moon and pro-Lee Jae-myung factions within the Democratic Party to a new level. Progressive YouTubers such as Kim Eo-jun and Joo Jin-woo, along with some pro-Moon supporters, are actively supporting Cho Kuk's pardon and are working to create favorable public opinion towards the pro-Moon faction. They are portraying Cho Kuk as a 'symbol of prosecutorial reform' and a 'reformer who stood against the vested interests,' and are trying to revive the reform momentum of the Moon Jae-in administration through his reinstatement. This frame is also Kim Eo-jun's forte, and even if it looks like Joo Jin-woo is adding seasoning and mobilizing support, we can already find a strong déjà vu, that is, the banality of déjà vu, in the frames of Cho Kuk's pardon and Choi Kang-wook's prosecutor general, etc.

On the other hand, those close to Lee Jae-myung are expressing considerable embarrassment. This is because Democratic Party lawmakers such as Choi Min-hee and Min Hyung-bae, who want to be involved in the Moon-Kim fraternal politics, have begun to raise their heads. As a result, it is President Lee Jae-myung and his loyalists who are directly affected by the worsening public opinion and falling approval ratings due to Cho Kuk's pardon. Within the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, there is discontent that "Why should we bear the political burden of the pro-Moon faction?" and this is acting as a factor that further deepens the conflict within the party. However, sometimes a painting tastes better when viewed from afar.

President Lee Jae-myung's decision to pardon Cho Kuk entails clear political risks. First, there is a decline in the president's approval rating and the Democratic Party's approval rating. In fact, various polls show a trend of increasing negative evaluations since the pardon announcement. Second, there is the possibility of a departure of the moderate class. The moderate class, which aims for political neutrality, is likely to have a negative perception of such political pardons. Third, it provides an excuse for the opposition party's political attacks. The opposition party, including the People Power Party, is trying to gain political benefits by attacking Cho Kuk's pardon with frames such as "favoring the privileged" and "undermining the rule of law." Fourth, the deepening of internal conflict within the Democratic Party. There is a high possibility that party unity will weaken between the dissatisfaction of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction and the demands of the pro-Moon Jae-in faction.

The biggest challenge facing President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party after Cho Kuk's amnesty is how to overcome the worsening public opinion. To this end, first, we must focus on people's livelihood-centered state administration. We must break away from the practice of causing political controversy and give the government time to cleanse the soiled souls of the people who were drawn into politics symbolized by prostitutes and pigs for the past three years. We must break the law of inertia that flatters the media that disparages the government. Second, it is important to manage internal conflicts and demonstrate integrated leadership. Efforts to mediate conflicts between pro-Moon and pro-Lee factions and restore party unity are essential. We must monitor the overreach and breach of trust of the ruling party leader and floor leader, and break away from the foolish practice of mentioning party members for factional politics. We must realize the reality that politicians of personal gain, such as Woo Won-shik and Park Ji-won, who have compared party members and the people, still have their seats. Third, a process of seeking public understanding through communication and persuasive politics is needed. We must always be awake to ensure smooth communication between the public and the powerful so that the president, who is a master of administration, does not have any obstacles in direct communication with the people. Fourth, political legitimacy must be restored through concrete and practical achievements in reform tasks.

The reason why political pardons are still needed is that prosecutorial reform and media reform have not been achieved. Factional politics within the ruling party also has its roots in the manifestation of a desire for power that operates under the abstract values of the rule of law and fairness. The Democratic Party already knows well the taste of power sown by long-standing pro-Japanese politics. The Democratic Party, which does not dissolve a party that aided and abetted insurrection and does not dismiss lawmakers involved in insurrection, may also need someone to clap hands with and do business with. Conflict and balance cannot go together.

The public needs to step forward and raise fundamental questions such as how to manage conflicts and divisions within political parties, and how to achieve national unity amidst the polarization of public opinion. We must realize that the media wants to keep the public trapped in third-rate trot music. Furthermore, the Korean society as a whole must take on the task of newly establishing a consensus on fairness and the rule of law. It is time to reflect on how political beliefs and value conflicts can be harmonized with legal judgments, and how tolerance and reconciliation are possible in a democratic society.

The pardon of Cho Kuk is a troubling choice made by President Lee Jae-myung between political reality and ideals. It has a complex nature that makes it difficult to give a simple answer to the question of who it is for. On the surface, it appears to be a measure for the pro-Moon faction and its supporters, but behind it, there is a strong character of inevitable compromise for adjusting the balance of power within the Democratic Party and for political survival. What is most important is follow-up measures and efforts to ensure that any political choice can contribute positively to the development of Korea and a unified society.