Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn yesterday became the latest politician to shave his head to protest South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s appointment of a key political ally as minister of justice, despite allegations of academic fraud and financial crimes surrounding his family.
The controversy surrounding Cho Kuk, a law professor and Moon’s former secretary for civil affairs, has stained the president’s reformist image and caused a slide in his approval ratings.
Amid ceaseless camera clicks, an official from the conservative LKP shaved off Hwang’s hair in front of Seoul’s presidential palace, where Hwang called for Moon to sack Cho as minister.
Photo: AFP
Female lawmakers Park In-sook of the LKP and independent Lee Un-ju also shaved their heads in past weeks calling for Cho’s dismissal.
“This is my warning to President Moon Jae-in: Do not go against the will of the people any further,” said the buzz-cut Hwang, who served as prime minister for former South Korean president Park Geun-hye before she was ousted from office and imprisoned in March 2017 over a corruption scandal.
“This is my ultimatum to Cho Kuk: Step down voluntarily from your post and receive an investigation from prosecutors,” Hwang added, receiving applause from LKP lawmakers, who were planning to protest in front of the Blue House until midnight.
The protest came hours after state prosecutors requested a warrant to formally arrest a relative of Cho, who was detained on Saturday over suspicions of fraud, embezzlement and attempting to destroy evidence linked to his management of a private equity fund financed by Cho’s family.
There are also allegations that Cho’s daughter received special treatment in her admissions to a top university in Seoul and a medical school in Busan, which struck a nerve in a country where teenagers toil in hypercompetitive school environments because graduating from elite universities is seen as crucial to career prospects.
Prosecutors have also indicted Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, on suspicions of manipulating an award issued to her daughter from a university in the southern city of Yeongju where she works as a professor.
Cho, who for years built an image as a reform-minded anti-elitist, denied legal wrongdoing during an intense 11-hour news conference with reporters and a hearing to lawmakers earlier this month.
Moon appointed Cho as justice minister last week, saying it would set a “bad precedent” if he withdraws a ministerial nominee based on unproven allegations.
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