'Willing to Endure Nationalism' Cho Kuk Quietly Supports Government's COVID-19 Response by Sharing Column

Expressing Support for Government Response Citing Column

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk quoted a column on the 7th in which he expressed the sentiment of "willingly enduring national pride." Photo by Former Minister Cho's Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk expressed support for the government's response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) by citing a column in which the author stated they were willing to accept being called "Gukppong." Gukppong is a newly coined term combining "guk" (nation) and "ppong" (methamphetamine), referring to an excessive state of intoxication with the belief that South Korea is the best.

On the 7th, Cho shared a link to a Hankyoreh newspaper column titled "The Story of Becoming a Gukppong Reporter on COVID-19" on his Facebook page.

He then quoted the column, saying, "The 1970s oil shock was a long-term opportunity for Korea. Korea absorbed the oil dollars from the Middle East and took over and developed the manufacturing industries that advanced countries were abandoning," adding, "If a reporter making such claims is called 'Gukppong,' then I am willing to accept such Gukppong."

Earlier, Cho had cited experts' recommendations to make efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, urging participation in the government's high-intensity "social distancing" guidelines by stating, "It is not over yet."

On the 4th, he also shared a post by President Moon Jae-in asking people to refrain from church services and participate in social distancing, calling it a "presidential appeal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.