Jo Eung-cheon "I hear they changed the strategy from trying to kill Lee Jae-myung to cutting off the root first"

"Democratic Research Institute Raid Seems Intended to Turn Democratic Party into a Shield Party"

On the 26th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the "Democratic Party Reflection and Innovation Continuous Forum" held at the National Assembly and presented on the topic "Reflection and Lessons from Five and a Half Years of Democratic Party Governance." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] On the 27th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, mentioned that the prosecution's strategy regarding Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, seems to be changing. Instead of slowly strangling him, they appear to be aiming to end it completely.

Cho appeared on MBC Radio's Kim Jong-bae's Focus and said, "If you put together the stories I've been hearing since yesterday, it seems like they have changed their strategy again," adding, "They want to just cut off the stump with an electric saw. So, I am investigating this."

Regarding the investigations so far, Cho analyzed that while the prosecution has been moving like lightning with the investigation of former President Moon Jae-in, the investigation related to Lee shows signs of a prolonged war. He explained, "What I have recently said is that the investigations into the previous government and those related to Lee Jae-myung are being handled differently. The East Sea and West Sea incidents are being processed like lightning to conclude as quickly as possible. But for cases related to Lee, it seems like a strategy to kill a big tree by chopping around the trunk with an axe or injecting pesticides rather than cutting the stump with an electric saw."

Cho said, "(The intention) may not be until the general election, but since the current government has not been able to find any self-driven momentum to restore its approval ratings, it seems they are aiming for a complementary effect by relatively easily discrediting the Democratic Party, the opposition."

Regarding the search and seizure at the Democratic Research Institute located at the Democratic Party headquarters, he said, "It seems they needed an image of the Democratic Party united tightly as a bulletproof party defending legitimate official duties," adding, "(The suspicion of political fund receipt involving Kim Yong, the deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute) is being portrayed not as Lee's personal issue but as a problem of the entire Democratic Party, making it difficult to separate the party from Lee Jae-myung."

However, he feels the atmosphere has changed.

Cho said, "Whether they keep milking the allegations related to Lee or intensify them to boost approval ratings," adding, "In the near future, they will request summons several times, accumulate justification, and then submit a motion for arrest to the National Assembly." When asked about responses to Lee's possible arrest or detention, he refrained from answering, saying, "It is not appropriate to respond to hypothetical questions."

He continued, "From what I recently heard, they hope it will be rejected," adding, "In the meantime, they will use what they have prepared for media play again."

Cho said, "President Yoon Seok-youl also mentioned during his past confirmation hearing as Prosecutor General that they cleverly use the disclosure of suspect facts by mixing about 70% facts with 30% exaggerated or slightly different facts, changing media outlets daily to release exclusive stories. This destroys a person's character completely even before indictment, and it seems to be happening now as well."

He expressed concern that past precedents, such as with former President Roh Moo-hyun or former party leader Lee Hoi-chang, where election fund issues did not lead to judicial processing, might be broken. Cho said, "The law of the jungle is collapsing," adding, "If you look at the attitude of Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon when he appeared before the National Assembly, this is something unimaginable in the past. Whatever happened in the past is now largely meaningless."

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