단상斷想

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, has been pardoned and reinstated. Regarding his pardon, former Representative Cho is taking a cautious approach due to the existing opposing public opinion. A Gallup poll showed 43% in favor and 48% against the pardon of former Representative Cho, and in particular, the opposition rate among those in their 30s reached 62%, indicating that the pardon of former Representative Cho still provides controversy in our society.

Perhaps conscious of this, former Representative Cho said in an interview with Hankyoreh, "I will work to prove my effectiveness and the necessity of my role to the 48% of the public who opposed my pardon." In particular, regarding the controversy surrounding his pardon, he said, "Of course, I have a lot to say about the prosecution's investigation as well as the court's guilty verdict. However, I don't think it makes much sense to say that now," and expressed his intention to "understand and accept the concerns and criticisms."

Former Representative Cho's attitude is an expression of his intention to acknowledge the 'political choice' of the people who oppose amnesty, rather than actively arguing for his 'innocence'. This also means that former Representative Cho Kuk acknowledges that unfairness and class privilege surrounding him exist in our society.

Still, 48% of the people suspect that if former Representative Cho Kuk had not been a professor at Seoul National University's Law School, and if he had not been a representative leader and vested interest in our society, there would have been no admission 'irregularities' for his children. The people still feel a sense of problem with the 'unfair irregularities' that former Representative Cho unknowingly used his superior position to use 'loopholes' in his children's admissions.

However, former Representative Cho maintains the position that he was only following the admission practices at the time, and that it was not a terrible crime deserving the utter ruin of his entire family. In fact, there is a concern that 'Cho Kuk's pardon' is not simply forgiving an individual's crime, but rather could lead to legally condoning the illegalities and corruption of privileged social leaders. This criticism is acting as a significant political burden for him as he faces the upcoming election next year.

Yoon Jun-byeong, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, wrote on his SNS on the 16th, "The admission irregularities and criminal acts of Cho Kuk's family, such as the 'daddy chance,' deserve criticism. Since Yoon Seok-yeol beat him up more, I'm okay with pardoning him," but added, "It's another matter to understand the pardon as forgiveness for admission irregularities. Therefore, it is wrong to interpret people's silence after Cho Kuk's pardon as 'agreement' with Cho Kuk's 'daddy chance.'"

As such, there are two perspectives within the progressive camp as well: 'Cho Kuk's unfairness' and 'the witch hunt of prosecutorial power.' 'Cho Kuk's pardon' will continue to be a subject of controversy in our society regarding the limitations of the noblesse oblige of the social elite, double standards, and strict standards for fairness and justice. There is also an interpretation that Lee Jae-myung's approval rating, which has been declining for two consecutive weeks and has fallen to the low 50% range, indicates the boiling point of public opinion regarding Cho Kuk's pardon.

It is impossible to judge whether former representative Cho is 'guilty or innocent' in this article. Former representative Cho's 'admission irregularities' may be 'innocent' altogether. Nevertheless, there are various voices within the progressive camp regarding the pardon of former representative Cho. In particular, it is worth noting that his pardon may have a negative impact on the reform front of the Lee Jae-myung government in the future.

Former representative Cho will feel morally responsible for being pardoned without serving half of his sentence. However, after leaving the prison, he officially declared his participation in real politics, saying, "I will receive the people's political choice in next year's election."

Former Representative Cho likely hoped that his ‘release’ would draw more attention to his political future rather than controversies surrounding amnesty or fairness issues. However, Cho's amnesty, without completing his narrative of being a victim of prosecutorial power, is likely to trap him in a framework of privilege and unfairness due to the amnesty itself.

With this amnesty, former Representative Cho has been attacked by the opposition with the frame of "guilty with power, innocent." The high opposition to his amnesty among centrists is due to its being perceived as an unfair case of "erasing sins with power."

What if former Representative Cho had been pardoned and did not declare his participation in politics, but instead took a low profile, saying he would 'take time to reflect'? What if he had said, 'I am wronged, but I respect the law and principles,' and that he would spend the remaining two years of his sentence serving and dedicating himself to the people?

This 'Socrates frame' is important because Cho's pardon does not simply guarantee the political future of a presidential candidate, but can also affect the progressive camp and President Lee Jae-myung's reform front. If former Representative Cho had taken a low profile with the Socrates frame, there was a possibility that he could have offset the progressive camp's unfairness and hypocrisy frame and repositioned himself as a 'moral asset'.

Choosing to respect the law while acknowledging unfairness leaves the public with an image of 'self-restraint and dedication,' and even after time passes, one can be evaluated as a "political victim who respected the law despite being wronged." This could function as a political asset that Cho Kuk can be embraced by, not only within the progressive camp but also among centrists and the younger generation.

This would have served as a political cushion for the progressive camp, alleviating the troublesome dilemma of "Should we protect Cho Kuk, or abandon him?" It was an opportunity for Cho Kuk to become the progressive camp's sore spot, but the simultaneous start of amnesty and political participation means that the possibility of him acting as a troublesome sore spot for them has increased.

The pardon of former Representative Cho not only causes fatigue for the progressive camp but will also cast a shadow over President Lee Jae-myung's reform front. The reform keywords of the Lee Jae-myung government can be summarized as "a fair society, breaking down vested interests, and people-centered politics." The public will feel skeptical about President Lee Jae-myung's sincerity in reform.

The Moon Jae-in government also experienced failure after the 2019 Cho Kuk scandal, where 'prosecution reform' became a black hole that sucked up all reform issues, and eventually the reform agenda itself disappeared. The Lee Jae-myung government should not take lightly the butterfly effect that Cho Kuk's pardon will bring. When the public witnesses Cho Kuk's pardon and feels distrust, saying, 'I thought Lee Jae-myung would be different, but he is the same,' the Lee Jae-myung government's reform momentum may decline.

President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating for state affairs has fallen for two consecutive weeks, recording the lowest since his inauguration. The background to the decline includes the departure of the center and youth groups along with the pardon of Cho Kuk. The younger generation still sees the 'Cho Kuk incident' as a representative example of unfair issues in our society and accepts Cho Kuk as the hypocritical behavior of the privileged social leaders.

If the conclusion of the Cho Kuk incident, which caused enormous controversy over fairness and justice in our society since 2021, results in 'pardon and restoration of rights,' the departure of supporters may be further accelerated. Conversely, the consolidation of the conservative camp is also bound to accelerate.

For the progressive camp, embracing Cho Kuk shakes the 'fairness value,' and abandoning him betrays the 'victim of prosecutorial politics,' creating a contradiction. This very ambivalence reveals the dilemma of the progressive camp and can become a mechanism that hinders President Lee Jae-myung's reforms. What becomes increasingly curious is why President Lee Jae-myung 'readily' pardoned former Representative Cho Kuk. That 'unspeakable reason' may hold the key to the Lee Jae-myung government's reforms.