Do we like Cho Kuk?
Our score: 5 out of 10. Nothing harmful turned up in his own words, but a Supreme Court conviction and a party scandal he was criticised over leave the good-person side mixed.
Cho Kuk was a law professor who became a senior presidential secretary and then Justice Minister under Moon Jae-in. He was appointed to lead reform of the prosecutors' office, including curbing prosecutors' power. He quit a little over a month into the job in October 2019, amid big protests and a prosecution probe into his family's affairs.
Then came the stoush that defines him. In December 2024 South Korea's Supreme Court upheld a two-year sentence over forged documents used in admissions applications, and over abuse of power in stopping an inspection of a Busan official. He lost his Assembly seat and was barred from running for five years. He said he would “humbly accept this ruling”. His supporters argued prosecutors went after him over his reforms, while conservatives called it a legitimate criminal inquiry.
President Lee Jae-myung pardoned him on Liberation Day, 15 August 2025, after about eight months inside. Cho called it “a symbolic moment marking the end of prosecutorial dictatorship”. Backlash was strong, especially among people in their 20s and 30s, and he said he had apologised about 13 times and would do so again if asked.
On the harm check, we found nothing from him against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or climate action. That is a gap in the record, not a clean bill: we found no statements from him on those topics at all. The closest thing is his August 2025 Facebook share of an article saying young men are turning far-right. The People Power Party's spokesperson called it divisive and accused him of stereotyping young men, which is that critic's view of it. He had no film or studio company to check, as he is a politician.
His comeback hit a wall in June 2026. He finished third in the Pyeongtaek-B by-election on 27.24 per cent, behind the People Power Party and Democratic Party candidates, and stepped down as leader. He said “The responsibility lies entirely with me”. His party also failed to win any of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial races or the 14 parliamentary seats contested alongside the local elections.
On the good side of the ledger, he has pushed prosecutorial reform for years. He kept up his opposition to the Yoon government even from the detention centre, urging the public to stop the ruling party keeping power. We found no charity work or personal kindnesses in the sources we read, so the good stuff here is mostly political. That is why the number lands in the middle.