Cho Gab-je: "Yoon still proves to be a dangerous figure... He should be permanently isolated from society"

[Financial News] Cho Gab-je, head of Cho Gab-je.com and one of the country’s leading conservative commentators, argued that former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been sought the death penalty on charges of leading an insurrection, is "still a dangerous figure" and should be "permanently isolated" from society. He also expressed regret that Yoon has not apologized for pushing an election-rigging conspiracy theory that, in his view, turned the conservative camp into a laughingstock.

Appearing on Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)’s "MBC News Today" on the 14th, Cho said, "The People Power Party is in effect dominated by the Yoon Suk Yeol faction," and made these remarks. He added, "Early this morning, when I saw that the People Power Party’s Ethics Committee decided to expel former party leader Han Dong-hoon simply because he criticized Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, it convinced me that the right thing to do is to permanently isolate defendant Yoon Suk Yeol from society."

Asked by the anchor about what form such "isolation" should take, Cho replied, "Under current law, it’s either life imprisonment or the death penalty, and the prosecution has sought the death penalty," and argued that the effectively dormant death penalty system should now become a subject of public debate.

Regarding the first-instance verdict on Yoon’s insurrection charges, scheduled for next month, Cho said, "Since 1997, our country has not carried out any executions, and because the death penalty is not actually enforced, we are seeing negative side effects. I think there is even a risk of turning defendant Yoon Suk Yeol into a hero," adding, "I believe a life sentence would be appropriate, but we should use this opportunity to formally address and settle the issue of capital punishment."

He continued, "Our laws stipulate that executions are to be carried out, but because they are not, this breeds distrust in the law," and went on, "I am not sure whether the question of enforcing the death penalty should be put to a national referendum, but we should clarify this first and then hand down death sentences. If we impose a punishment that has no realistic prospect of being carried out, the backlash will be even greater."

Separately from the sentencing hearing itself, Cho said, "There is one thing I believe former President Yoon absolutely should have said," and brought up the election-rigging conspiracy theory.
He argued, "He fell into the delusion that (South Korea), whose elections are among the fairest in the world, was holding rigged elections. He mobilized the military and, for the first time in our history, incited an attack on the National Assembly and the National Election Commission (NEC). Even if there may be some logic to declaring martial law, the claim of election fraud is clearly a lie, yet 30% of our citizens were taken in by this conspiracy theory."

According to Cho, the election-rigging conspiracy theory made the conservative camp a laughingstock. "He should have apologized for leading people into that conspiracy theory about election fraud. Instead, this man committed anti-democratic and anti-national crimes," he condemned.

He also commented on the decision made in the early hours of the same day by the People Power Party’s Central Ethics Committee to expel former leader Han Dong-hoon in connection with the "Party Members’ Bulletin Board Incident."

Cho said, "It felt like a midnight coup. The People Power Party expelled the former leader without even hearing his explanation, solely on the grounds that he had criticized Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife."

He went on, "It showed that the ‘Yoon Suk Yeol faction’ still controls this party, and it sounded like an appeal saying, ‘Our party is an insurrectionist party, so please dissolve us.’"

He then flatly declared that the People Power Party is "not conservative but far-right," and added, "The party is now in a situation where it must decide whether it can, by its own strength, bring an end to the current leadership under Jang Dong-hyeok. If that proves impossible, the public will settle the matter in the upcoming local elections."

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter