Park Ji-won: "Watch the Jo Guk new party... I have not heard of Kim Nam-guk joining"

Published 22 Jun.2023 09:10(KST)

Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won, who predicted former Minister Cho Kuk's candidacy for the new party in Gwangju, maintained his stance of "let's wait and see" despite criticism directed at him. He also said that as long as investigations into Cho's family continue, he has no choice but to enter politics.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd, Park said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Of course, I also told former Minister Cho to focus on his trial before, but superficially and expressively, while he is focusing on the trial, I wonder if he might be thinking otherwise. I don't know if this is close or not, but the same talk is coming from his people as well."

Earlier, he mentioned the rumor of former Minister Cho founding a new party in Gwangju on KBS Radio, but Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized it as "nonsense" after texting with Cho and confirming it was groundless.

In response, Park maintained his position, saying, "If I had exchanged texts with former Minister Cho like that, he wouldn't say that he is running, founding a new party, or going to Gwangju now," adding that it was only the timing that prevented him from making such statements about candidacy.

He explained that former Minister Cho has no choice but to enter politics. He said, "The current conditions are like this. In the past, our politics had taboos. Between spouses, children were not touched, but now the taboo has completely broken, and politics has become a chaotic mess," adding, "How much persecution is the Cho family receiving from the prosecution?"

He continued, "Did Cho Min do anything wrong? They are prosecuting her over university and medical license issues. Since the statute of limitations is until August, they either hurry or drag it out to kill her slowly, which is torture," adding, "Therefore, I think former Minister Cho has no choice but to enter politics. He has to run."

He explained that Cho would enter politics to restore the honor of his family and himself. Park said, "I hope former Minister Cho does not run for the Democratic Party. However, it is his decision," adding, "If his family is almost being massacred like that, he might come out and ask the people directly."

However, he dismissed the rumor of Rep. Kim Nam-guk joining Cho's new party, saying, "I haven't heard that. It's the wish of those who want to drown the Democratic Party in the Cho swamp and the Kim Nam-guk swamp."