The Rebuilding Korea Party, a minor opposition party led by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, is certain to secure more than 10 seats, potentially becoming a dark horse in parliament to bolster the wider opposition bloc.
The result, while falling short of earlier TV exit polls projecting a win of as many as 15 proportional seats, is still largely viewed as a victory for the party launched just over a month before Wednesday’s vote amid Cho’s ongoing criminal trial.
Cho’s rise as a third-party force also mirrors broader public support for its fiercely anti-government platform advocating an early end to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
Cho Kuk, leader of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, smiles as TV exit polls project their performance for the election as the party monitors the situation at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 10, 2024. (Yonhap)
“The people have made their intent clear that it is a verdict handed down to the Yoon Suk Yeol government,” Cho said after watching TV exit polls Wednesday.
Tog
ether with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP)’s resounding victory, the broader opposition bloc could further hinder Yoon from moving his agenda forward during his remaining three years in office.
However, the bloc fell short of a two-thirds majority that would have given them the power to override presidential vetoes and even impeach Yoon, as strongly spearheaded by Cho during the electioneering period.
Cho, a former prominent law professor at Seoul National University, had served as the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2017 to 2019 under the preceding Moon Jae-in administration. As one of Moon’s closest aides, Cho was subsequently appointed as justice minister in September 2019.
However, he resigned in disgrace about a month later following an investigation into an academic fraud case involving his children, when Yoon was prosecutor-general.
Cho faces a dozen charges, including fabricating documents to facilitate his children’s admission to prestigious universities and graduat
e schools, as well as receiving a kickback in the form of a scholarship for his daughter, who attended medical school.
Cho Kuk (L), leader of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, claps after exit polls project a good performance for them in the election as the party monitors the situation at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 10, 2024. (Yonhap)
Cho, who has pleaded his innocence and argued that his family was subject to a “targeted investigation,” announced plans for the new party in February after an appeals court confirmed a two-year prison term for the charges.
“The duty to swiftly end Yoon Suk Yeol’s prosecutorial dictatorship has been fatefully bestowed upon us,” Cho said during the party’s launch on March 3.
The result is also attributed to the party’s differentiation from two other newly created minor parties with more eye-catching slogans critiquing Yoon.
“Three years is too long,” Cho has repeatedly said during the campaigning, emphasizing the party’s ambitious goal to impeach the president be
fore his term ends in 2027.
Observers also say Cho’s party had emerged as an alternative option for liberal swing voters who aligned with the opposition bloc’s call for stern judgment on the “incompetent” Yoon administration but were hesitant to support the DP.
“The sentiment among voters to judge the current administration was much stronger than anticipated by experts,” said Park Sang-byung, a political analyst.
The results also exceeded Cho’s initial goal of securing 10 out of the 46 proportional representation seats in the 300-member National Assembly.
Cho has argued that his party would strive to lower the threshold of lawmakers needed to form a negotiation body, from the current 20 to between 10 and 15. The change would enable his party to propose bills independently of the DP.
Furthermore, Cho has said his party will propose a special counsel investigation into Yoon and Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, after the new National Assembly comes into office.
Under the overarch
ing slogan of overcoming Yoon’s prosecutorial dictatorship, Cho has also called for an investigation into various allegations involving Yoon, Han and even their family members.
Despite Cho’s surprise victory, risks remain as he faces a potential jail term following the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the academic fraud case.
Cho would lose his parliamentary seat if the sentence is finalized.
Adding to concerns, Hwang Un-ha, who also secured one of the party’s proportional seats, is at risk of losing his parliamentary seat as he was handed a prison term for an election violation law.
Observers also point out the need for Cho to further go beyond “the judgment” rhetoric by putting forward policy alternatives to overcome the national crisis in various fields and expand his party with other support bases.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
