After the party leadership of the Rebuilding Korea Party resigned en masse, the party elected Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Institute, as emergency response committee chairperson. The party affairs committee of the Rebuilding Korea Party was said to have elected Chairperson Cho with an overwhelming majority.
Seo Wang-jin, floor leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, told reporters after the party affairs committee held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 11th, "We recommended Cho as the sole candidate for emergency committee chairperson and held a yes-or-no vote, and he was elected with an overwhelming majority in favor."
He added, "Regarding the composition of the emergency committee, we decided to delegate primary authority to Cho, the emergency committee chairperson," and said, "In composing and operating the emergency committee going forward, we will swiftly carry out measures to protect and console the victim."
The Rebuilding Korea Party's leadership resigned en masse after the defection of former spokesperson Kang Mi-jung, who had exposed a recent sexual misconduct case. It is known that there were remarks amounting to secondary victimization in the process of handling the case, leading to continued internal strife, including the defection of senior advisor Eun Woo-geun, a founding figure.
The victim's side has shown a negative stance toward the "Cho emergency committee." Attorney Kang Mi-suk, representing the victim, appeared on CBS Radio on the 8th and said, "If Cho, the former leader, takes the post of emergency committee chairperson, his opinions will be prioritized, but our view is that a more horizontal structure with a third-party chairperson would be better." In particular, as criticism has emerged that Cho has turned his back on supporting the victim, there is a possibility that further objections will follow that this election of the emergency committee chairperson is inappropriate.
Initially, Cho planned to run for party leader at the national convention in Nov., but with his election as emergency committee chairperson, he has moved to the forefront earlier than expected. Cho had been serving a sentence on charges of his children's admissions fraud and of blocking a Blue House inspection, but he was included in the Aug. 15 pardon list last month and was pardoned and reinstated.