Jin Joong-kwon’s 'Madness' Remark... Jo Jung-rae Warns "Legal Action If No Sincere Apology"

Author Jo Jung-rae is listening to questions at the '50th Anniversary of Literary Debut Press Conference' held on the morning of the 12th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized writer Jo Jung-rae as 'madness,' and on the 15th, Jo demanded "a public sincere apology."

On that day, Jo said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "I now demand a public sincere apology from that person. If not, I will hold him legally responsible for defamation of the writer's honor."

Jo said, "He criticized me and even mocked the president's daughter, but that person (former professor Jin) did not verify the facts," adding, "So I now demand a public sincere apology from him."

He explained, "The statement that anyone who studied in Japan automatically becomes a pro-Japanese collaborator is a misunderstanding," and "I clearly limited and specified that part to indigenous Japanese collaborators (tochak waegu)."

He said, "The media omitted this most crucial subject part and distorted the article by only including the sentence that if you studied in Japan, you all become pro-Japanese collaborators, which caused widespread misunderstanding."

He continued, "If the subject part 'indigenous Japanese collaborators' had not been removed and left as is, there would be no reason for such misunderstanding," explaining, "Those we call indigenous Japanese collaborators studied or trained in Japan or had contact with Japan and came back, thus becoming corrupted."

On the same day, Jo also addressed the political circles, saying, "The political circles made noise by speaking only based on newspaper reports without verifying the facts with me," and "From today, I hope such fruitless debates stop and that they quickly return to a people's livelihood National Assembly for the entire nation."

Earlier, on the 12th, former professor Jin mocked Jo by posting on his Facebook, "Studying in Japan makes you a pro-Japanese collaborator? Soon, writer Jo Jung-rae will be referred to the Special Investigation Committee on Anti-National Activities and executed as a traitor to the nation." The Special Investigation Committee on Anti-National Activities was a special organization established by the Constituent National Assembly to punish pro-Japanese collaborators who committed anti-national acts during the Japanese colonial period.

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