Cho Kuk Offers Deep Condolences to Victims of Party Sexual Misconduct... Vows Full Restoration Efforts

Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, expressed his deep condolences on September 5 to the victims who were deeply hurt by the sexual misconduct incident that arose within the party.

Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On the afternoon of September 4, through his social media account, Cho Kuk said, "My heart is heavy and in pain over spokesperson Kang Mijeong's announcement of her departure from the party." Spokesperson Kang Mijeong declared her withdrawal from the party that morning in protest against the handling of the sexual misconduct and workplace harassment cases within the party.

Cho Kuk stated, "On August 22, through the victim's representative, I promised to meet and console spokesperson Kang Mijeong, who has suffered, as soon as I finished my official schedule. I regret that I should have acted more quickly."

He continued, "While I was in detention, I received numerous letters. There were also materials sent by the victim's representative," adding, "However, upon hearing that the party had expelled the perpetrator after an investigation, I thought the matter had been settled."

Regarding the criticism he faced for remaining silent at the time, he explained, "At that time, I was not a party member due to the loss of my party membership, so I had no role to play while the official procedures of the party were underway. I believed that intervening in this process as a non-member would undermine the party's system and procedures."

He added, "It was the right decision for the party to expel the perpetrator through a public procedure led by an external figure. However, we must reflect on whether there were any shortcomings in the process of restoring the victim. I will work to institutionalize uncompromising punishment and full restoration for victims."

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