Choi Kang-wook, the head of the Democratic Party of Korea training institute, voluntarily resigned on the 7th after controversy over alleged secondary victimization comments related to a sexual misconduct incident involving the Rebuilding Korea Party.
On that day, Choi posted on Facebook, saying, "I would like to resign from my position as head of the party training institute," and added, "I have thought it was too important and heavy a position for me to take right now."
He continued, "Regardless of the reasons, I feel that it is a minimal duty for those who have felt a significant burden and pain because of me," adding, "I can only express my regret. I will reflect on my actions and contemplate."
Choi previously stated at a Rebuilding Korea Party event in Daejeon and Sejong City on the 31st of last month regarding the sexual misconduct incident, "How many people know the facts of the incident regardless of how bad the sexual misconduct is? It's just people listening to others and talking about it," and remarked, "Thinking that the words of someone you like are right reflects the thoughts of a pig, not your own."
As the controversy grew, Jeong Cheong-rae, the Democratic Party representative, instructed the party's ethics inspection team on the 4th to investigate Choi. The ethics inspection team was expected to report the investigation results to the party leadership soon.
Choi lost his parliamentary seat after being sentenced to a suspended sentence in 2023 for falsifying an internship certificate for the son of Jo Guk, the head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's policy innovation research institute. He was recently pardoned by the Lee Jae-myung government on Liberation Day and appointed as head of the Democratic Party's training institute on August 18.