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Former minor party leader Cho Kuk under consideration for Liberation Day special pardon

Published: 07 Aug. 2025, 15:48

Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk attends a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul, regarding the Supreme Court ruling on Dec. 12, 2024. [NEWS1]

Former minor party leader Cho Kuk is being considered as a potential beneficiary of presidential pardons to be announced ahead of Liberation Day next week, sources said Thursday, raising the possibility of his early release from prison.

Cho, who had led the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, is currently serving a two-year prison term after the Supreme Court in December upheld his conviction for academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection.

Whether Cho, who served as a senior aide to former President Moon Jae-in and a justice minister in 2019, would be a possible beneficiary of next week's special pardons — the first under President Lee Jae Myung since he took office in June — has been a focus of political blocs and local media in recent weeks.

According to legal and political sources, Cho has been included in the special pardon list to be reviewed by a justice ministry committee later in the day before it is finalized and approved at a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Considering that the list is formed based on talks between the presidential office and the ministry, it would be highly unlikely for the committee to exclude Cho from the finalized list.

Moon, the former president, called for Cho's pardon when he met Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, Tuesday.

Other high-profile figures who might be considered for next week's pardons include Cho Hee-yeon, former superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Cho lost his seat as superintendent last year after the Supreme Court upheld a suspended term against him on charges of abuse of power in connection with the reinstatement of dismissed teachers.

Special pardons, which are among the president's inherent powers, have often been granted to convicted politicians, business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day to reward good behavior and foster national harmony.

Yonhap