There has been criticism within the ruling camp regarding President Lee Jae-myung's special pardon for former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk and his wife, former Tongyang University professor Jeong Kyung-shim, on the occasion of the 8.15 Liberation Day.
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong noted on Facebook on the afternoon of the 16th, "The entrance exam frauds, such as the 'dad chance' for the Cho family, deserve condemnation. However, since he was hit harder by Yoon Suk-yeol, it is okay to grant the pardon." He added, "But interpreting the pardon as forgiveness for the entrance exam fraud is another matter."
He added, "It is wrong to interpret people's silence after the pardon of Cho Kuk as 'agreement' to the 'dad chance.'"
When comments criticizing his post were made, the lawmaker replied with another comment saying, "What is past is past, and what is public is public."
The pardon for the former leader is becoming an obstacle to the high support ratings of the Lee Jae-myung government. In a public opinion survey conducted by the Korea Gallup from the 12th to the 14th among 1,007 people aged 18 and older, President Lee's approval rating was 59%, down 5 percentage points from the previous survey conducted in the third week of July. The main reason for the negative evaluation was 'special pardon.' For the special pardon of the former leader, 43% supported it while 48% opposed it.
This survey was conducted through telephone interviews with randomly selected mobile virtual numbers, and the margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The response rate was 13.4%. For more details, refer to the website of the Central Election Survey Deliberation Committee.
The opposition is continuing its offensive regarding the pardon for the former leader. On the 15th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker, showed a placard reading his opposition to both the pardon of former leader Cho Kuk and former lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang during President Lee Jae-myung's Liberation Day address. On the 16th, Chief Spokesperson Choi Eun-seok of the People Power Party also criticized, "President Lee is enforcing the pardons for Cho Kuk (former Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker) and Yoon Mi-hyang (former lawmaker) and has placed 'a person surnamed Chin Young' in a key position without hearings, which is better expressed as 'a spokesperson for our side only, not the people.'"