“Cho Hee-dae, refund the ‘wine’ charged to the corporate card if you don’t want to go to prison”... Park Ji-won takes direct aim at official business expenses

[Financial News] Rep. Park Ji-won of the Democratic Party of Korea bluntly criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae over the controversy surrounding his official business expenses, saying, “If you don’t want to go to prison, calculate the cost of the improperly used corporate card and refund it.”

On the 7th, Rep. Park appeared on YTN Radio’s “Jang Seong-cheol’s News Myeongdang” and made the remark while discussing allegations of so-called “split payments” and misuse of official business expenses raised at the previous day’s audit of the Supreme Court by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.
At the audit held the previous day, Chief Justice Cho’s official business expense records came under scrutiny. Rep. Lee Seong-yun of the Democratic Party of Korea claimed, “Media reports on Chief Justice Cho’s official business expense records show that expensive meals, such as omakase and dinner courses at hotel restaurants, were eaten, with a corporate card used to pay for them. Would the public understand that? Wine was bought with official business expenses.”
Citing, among other things, records showing that about 50 people had dined at a restaurant with a maximum capacity of 19, Rep. Park raised allegations of so-called “split payments” and called Chief Justice Cho “a criminal caught in the act.”

At the audit, Chief Justice Cho replied, “I have never even seen the card. I didn’t drink a single drop of alcohol,” adding, “I know absolutely nothing about the budget allocation or spending, or how much the meal cost that day.”
He added, “Our members’ wish is to try foods they haven’t had before. It seems that in some cases the amount may have exceeded the limit, but I believe the court administration will make corrections so that this does not happen again. I apologize to the people.”
Rep. Park criticized the response, saying, “They spent a huge budget on wine and food, and then say, ‘I don’t drink a single glass of alcohol; I only ate, and my subordinates made the payment.’ Does that make any sense? What a cowardly head of an institution.”
He continued, “People make others stand trial even for eating a single 800-won Choco Pie, so why are they spending so much on corporate cards, wine and food?” He retorted, “If I had misappropriated public funds like that and misused a corporate card, would you find me not guilty?”
He went on, raising his voice: “If they committed the wrongdoing of splitting payments by claiming that 50 or so people ate at a restaurant that seats a maximum of 19, isn’t the chief justice responsible? A head of an institution should not shift the blame to subordinates. They should say, ‘I ate that meal and bought that wine, and if that was wrong, it’s my responsibility.’ Of course, the improperly charged amount should be refunded.”
Rep. Park also likened Chief Justice Cho to former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
He said, “Yoon Suk Yeol is showing the same behavior, acting as if he did nothing wrong and shifting everything onto his subordinates during the trial process. Just as Yoon Suk Yeol entered politics as prosecutor general and went on to become a presidential candidate, a political judge is following the path of a second Yoon Suk Yeol in trying to become president.”
He stressed, “Whether it’s wine or food bills, quickly calculate and refund anything improperly charged to a corporate card. Otherwise, legal punishment should be imposed.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter