"I Will Help Reconstruct Progressivism"... Jin Joong-kwon, Who Left Justice Party Over the 'Cho Kuk Incident,' Returns After 2 Years

Former Professor Jin Joong-kwon: "I Will Go with Sim Sang-jung"
Sim Sang-jung, in Interview on the 18th: "Misjudgment During the Cho Kuk Incident"
"Distrust Grows Due to the Party's Disappointing Behavior"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon announced that he will rejoin the Justice Party. This comes about two years after he left the party in 2020 in protest of the Justice Party's lukewarm stance during the so-called 'Cho Kuk incident.'

On the 21st, Jin wrote on his Facebook, "I am going to Sim Sang-jung. I will rejoin the Justice Party," adding, "I will look for ways to support young politicians from behind for the reorganization of the progressive movement."

He also shared an article quoting Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party's presidential candidate. According to the article, Sim said on the previous day’s MBC '100-Minute Debate,' "The Justice Party is a feminism party. The feminism of the Justice Party is about ensuring that women, sexual minorities, and all citizens are respected."

Sim also strongly criticized the presidential candidates from both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, saying, "I know that 50 days before the presidential election, it is effective to ride on anger and divide people as a vote-gaining strategy," but added, "Politics must refrain from what should be refrained from. I am angry that candidates who should present alternatives are inciting hatred and employing divisive vote-gaining strategies."

Cho Kuk, then Minister of Justice nominee, on his way to the office set up in Jeokseon Hyundai Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul in 2019 / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Jin had submitted his resignation from the Justice Party in September 2019 during the 'Cho Kuk incident.' At that time, Jin argued that the Justice Party should oppose the appointment of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, but the party did not accept this.

Sim, then the leader of the Justice Party, did not process Jin’s resignation letter, saying, "Since these are difficult times for everyone, I asked that we get through this together." However, Jin submitted his resignation again in January 2020, and it was processed then.

Jin also claimed that the Justice Party did not oppose Cho’s appointment due to "concerns about a large-scale resignation."

During a lecture titled 'Baekam Lecture - Democracy in the Post-Truth Era' held at Seoul National University’s College of Education, he said, "I was astonished that the Justice Party, contrary to what it initially said, declared it would support Cho’s appointment," and pointed out, "The Justice Party estimated that at least 8,000 members would leave if it opposed Cho’s appointment. Losing sponsorships and failing to secure proportional representation seats is a huge blow for a small party."

On the 16th, Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party presidential candidate, visited the site of the newly built apartment collapse accident in Seo-gu, Gwangju, and finished meeting with the families of the missing. / Photo by Yonhap News

Sim abruptly halted her campaign on the 12th and went into seclusion. After careful consideration, she resumed her schedule five days later and said in a radio interview on the 18th, "The accumulated distrust over the disappointing image the party showed during the 'Cho Kuk incident' has not been recovered at all," adding, "In that process, the values and principles of the progressive party were greatly shaken."

Regarding the Justice Party’s failure to oppose Cho’s appointment in 2019, she bowed her head and said, "I think it was the most painful misjudgment in my 20 years in politics."

Meanwhile, Kang Min-jin, leader of the Youth Justice Party, welcomed Jin’s return on Facebook, saying, "I sincerely welcome him. I hope he will play a significant role in this presidential election and become a colleague who shares the same vision for a long time."

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