Cho Kuk: Politicians who blindly called for quashing indictments should reflect

Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, said on the 18th that President Lee Jae-myung's request at his press conference to "delete the existing provision on quashing indictments in the special prosecutor act on fabricated indictments" aligned with his own position, and that politicians, commentators, and YouTubers who have blindly called for indictments to be quashed should reflect on themselves. That day, Cho wrote on Facebook, "Those who led camp-dividing politics, blindly insisted that quashing indictments was right, and branded critics as 'anti- (anti-democratic pretext)' must stand before the plaster statue and repent." He added that restoring momentum for state affairs depends on the Democratic Party's attitude, saying the ruling party should devote its full efforts to "humble power, unwavering reform, and resolving inequality."

Progressive opposition parties gave largely positive assessments of President Lee's press conference while also criticizing some pending issues. Im Myeong-hee, spokesperson for the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, said in a briefing, "It was an occasion that clearly showed a grave awareness of public sentiment and the sincerity of his introspection, but it fell short of the public's expectations in terms of concrete solutions to key policy issues, revealing regrets and limitations." She also pointed out that pushing ahead with a confirmation hearing for Kim Ji-yong, nominee to head the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, calls into question his sincerity on prosecutorial reform.

Spokesperson Im Myeong-hee also told President Lee that the civil affairs portfolio at the presidential office should be reorganized to include figures from outside the prosecution. She added, "In particular, I hope the chief of staff for policy will be someone who carefully attends to people's livelihoods and dramatically resolves inequality."