'Ghosts of previous administrations' rumored to return

Former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs of the Park Geun-hye administration Woo Byung-woo, left, and former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs of the Moon Jae-in administration Cho Kuk / Korea Times file

Key aides of ex-presidents Park, Moon eye 2024 general election

By Nam Hyun-woo

Key yet controversial officials of the previous Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in administrations are showing glimpses of intention to run in next year's general election, casting an outlook that the upcoming election could become a proxy battle between the former presidents.

Woo Byung-woo, Park's senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, and Cho Kuk, Moon's senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, are both remembered as iconic figures of the past decade due to their involvement in scandals that resulted in massive public distrust of their respective administrations.

Since their candidacy will likely be the hottest issue in the general election, both the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are voicing concerns that the two figures may end up stealing the show.

The speculation started when Woo said in an interview with the local daily JoongAng Ilbo on June 9 that he "received many calls to run in next year's general election" and he was reflecting upon "what (he) can do for the country."

Woo, a career prosecutor and lawyer, was appointed as senior presidential secretary in January 2015, but left the post in October 2016, as then-President Park ordered all of her senior presidential secretaries to resign. Later, he was charged with negligence in Park's corruption scandal and for illegal inspection of liberal figures. He served more than a year in prison following a guilty verdict on the illegal inspection charge.

Last December, Woo was reinstated by President Yoon Suk Yeol and is now working as a lawyer.

Following Woo's interview, rumors circulated quickly that he is seeking a seat in the National Assembly representing his hometown of Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which drew sensitive responses from the PPP.

"Regardless of an individual evaluation, the next general election should be an election through which the PPP and the Yoon administration are talking about the future," the ruling party's Supreme Council member Jang Ye-chan said in a CBS radio interview, Thursday. "Why do we have to backpedal?"

PPP senior spokesperson Rep. Yoo Sang-bum said in an SBS radio interview, Tuesday, that the party was not considering Woo's candidacy for the general election but was also not aware of his intentions. PPP Rep. Ha Tae-keung told MBC that "the party is now led by those who agreed with former President Park's impeachment."

Former President Moon Jae-in, left, and his former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk pose at Moon's residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in this photo uploaded on Cho's Facebook page on June 10. Captured from Facebook

The main opposition party is also placed in a similar situation, with former senior secretary Cho implying his intention to become a lawmaker.

Cho wrote in a June 10 Facebook post that he met former President Moon and is now contemplating his role "in this retrograding time in which the Moon administration's everything is being denied."

"I will walk his pathless path where there is no map or no compass," Cho wrote.

Cho was Moon's first senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. He served in the role from May 2017 to July 2019 and was then appointed as the justice minister in September 2019 but resigned just a month later following corruption allegations surrounding him and his family members.

Despite Moon's continued trust in Cho, it became the Moon administration's largest corruption scandal and helped President Yoon, who was a prosecutor investigating the allegations against Cho, to take office.

Although the DPK believes Cho is set to run in the general election based on the post, it remains skeptical of fielding Cho as a candidate.

"If Cho runs in the election, the current election framing of handing down a judgment on the Yoon administration will be changed to judgment on the DPK, meaning a defeat in the general election," DPK Rep. Cho Eung-cheon said in a radio interview with broadcaster CBS, Thursday.

DPK Rep. Jung Sung-ho said in a radio interview with MBC on Tuesday that "I expect him to make a wise choice for the sake of (the DPK's) election victory," and Rep. Lee Won-wook said, "though it will be Cho's choice, chances are high that his candidacy is a risk for the party."

"Regardless of the advantages and disadvantages of those figures' election bids with each party, it is worrisome that the upcoming election may become trapped in the old frames of Park's impeachment and Moon's failed attempt to protect Cho," a ruling bloc official said.

An official at the DPK also said, "It seems like politics is still grappling with the ghosts of the previous administrations."