"Does This Hide 'Policy Plagiarism'?"... Mayor Jo Gwang-han Expresses "Regret" Over 'Party Suspension'

"The Suspension of Party Duties and Referral to the Party Ethics Committee Are Just for Smearing"

Jowanghan, Mayor of Namyangju City [Provided by Namyangju City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] On the 7th, Cho Gwang-han, mayor of Namyangju City, expressed regret, calling the Democratic Party of Korea's Supreme Council decision to suspend his party duties and refer him to the party ethics tribunal a "smear campaign."

This is interpreted as a backlash against the Democratic Party's earlier decision to suspend Mayor Cho's party position and refer him to the party ethics tribunal investigation following his indictment without detention over allegations related to recruitment at Namyangju Urban Corporation.

Through his SNS, Mayor Cho began by saying, "I am truly sorry to post twice in one day," and stated, "I am a local government head, so the party position was automatically assigned to me."

He continued, "I do not actually perform a single task related to party affairs. Isn't it ridiculous to do this when I practically do nothing?" expressing opposition to the party's disciplinary action.

Mayor Cho also said, "Doing this at this point in time seems to be an attempt to smear me," adding, "It must be a typical tactic of the group we are confident about. Do they think this will cover up 'policy plagiarism'...?" mocking the situation.

He expressed his grievance, saying, "Many local government heads suffer from false accusations by hostile political forces and are sometimes indicted. Since this concerns my colleagues, I am cautious, but I feel truly sorry if such treatment is applied with the same standard to everyone."

However, Mayor Cho took a step back, stating, "Although I am very displeased and find it absurd, since those in authority have handled it this way, I will analyze it well and act accordingly."

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Democratic Party's ethics tribunal investigation into Mayor Cho is scheduled to take place early next week.

Previously, the prosecution indicted Mayor Cho without detention on charges including involvement in recruiting party members for a specific candidate during last year's general election and supporting a particular individual in the hiring process for the audit director at Namyangju Urban Corporation.

Currently, Mayor Cho is on trial at the Uijeongbu District Court and is known to deny the charges in both cases.

Additionally, he is engaged in a confrontation with Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung over the maintenance of rivers and valleys in the Namyangju area.

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