Cho Kuk, former leader of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, burns incense to pay tribute to late President Kim Dae-jung in front of Kim’s tomb during a memorial service to mark the 16th anniversary of his death at the National Cemetery in Seoul on Aug. 18, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who was released from prison under a presidential pardon last week, said Monday he will apply to rejoin a minor opposition party, signaling that he would run for next year’s local elections.
The pardon by President Lee Jae Myung restored Cho’s eligibility to run for public office, at a time when Lee’s approval ratings have fallen partly due to controversies surrounding Cho’s pardon.
Cho, who founded and formerly headed the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, announced his plan to return to the party on a YouTube program, eight months after he was stripped of his party membership.
When asked whether he plans to run in the local elections or the parliamentary by-elections, he replied, “I have not yet decided where I will run.”
“In any case, it is clear that I will seek the people’s choice next June,” he said, hinting at his intention to run in next year’s local elections.
“(Cho) will submit his request for reinstatement online,” the party’s spokesperson Yoon Jae-kwan said.
He had been serving a two-year prison term since December for academic fraud concerning his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection, before being pardoned and released from prison last week.
The party plans to finalize his reinstatement this week and hold an online vote on Aug. 20-21 to shorten the interim leadership’s term to convene an early national convention, in a move widely seen as a step toward Cho’s return to the party chairmanship.
Cho kicked off his public activities Monday, appearing on YouTube just three days after his release and visiting the grave of late President Kim Dae-jung to mark the 16th anniversary of his death.
(Yonhap)
