Cho Eung-cheon, the Reform Party’s candidate for Gyeonggi governor, on May 3 criticized a Democratic Party-backed bill to appoint a special counsel to probe alleged “fabricated indictments,” calling it “a special counsel bill to cancel indictments” and “a bill to erase crimes” aimed at covering up “all of President Lee Jae-myung’s offenses.” He proposed an emergency joint meeting of Seoul-area candidates for metropolitan government posts.
Speaking at a morning news conference at the National Assembly, Cho said candidates who agree the country is in an emergency should meet at 3 p.m. to coordinate a response. The Democratic Party on April 30 introduced a special counsel bill to investigate allegations that prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration fabricated indictments in cases including the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea case and the Daejang-dong case.
Cho singled out Choo Mi-ae, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Gyeonggi governor, as the starting point of the controversy. “At the beginning of all this is candidate Choo, who is excited about her dream of becoming Gyeonggi governor,” he said, adding that as the previous chair of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee she pushed “all kinds of strange special counsel bills” and led what he called a “monstrous” bill.
He also criticized Choo for, in his words, giving up her committee post to Rep. Seo Young-kyo after deciding to run for governor and then offering no explanation “as if she has nothing to do with it.” He urged her to “stop hiding” and state clearly, “as a lawyer,” whether the bill has problems.
Cho encouraged participation by People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon and Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja. “I’m waiting for a response from Seoul-area candidates for metropolitan government posts, including candidate Oh Se-hoon, who is a lawyer,” he said, adding that it would carry weight if they gathered across party lines to speak with one voice.
Asked whether the meeting had been coordinated in advance and whether it might fall through, Cho said there had been no prior coordination. If the meeting cannot be held due to time constraints, he said, he could ask to have his name included if a joint statement is issued.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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