“Wearing gloves to spare his hands?” Cho Kuk pushes back over controversy surrounding photo of him volunteering to wash elderly people’s feet

[Financial News]  Cho Kuk, director of the Rebuilding Korea Party’s Institute for Innovation Policy Studies, pushed back after drawing criticism for wearing gloves while volunteering to wash elderly people’s feet, saying, “All the volunteers wore gloves in accordance with the facility’s rules.” 
On the 28th of last month, Cho posted on Facebook a photo of himself washing and massaging elderly people’s feet at a senior welfare facility in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. He said, “The massage may have been amateur-level, but I gave it my all. It reminded me of my late father, who passed away in 2013.” 
After criticism emerged online that he had “worn gloves to spare his own hands,” Cho posted on Facebook on the 9th, explaining, “As you can see in the photo, all the volunteers wore gloves in accordance with the facility’s rules.”
He continued, “I don’t know who’s behind it, but lately more people have been eagerly engaging in indiscriminate ‘Cho Kuk-bashing.’ I tried to maintain the composure to let criticism pass with a smile and silence, but I’m posting this because the facts need to be made clear.”
In another post, Cho said, “I stated that the rules require gloves to be worn when washing elderly people’s feet at a nursing facility, and posted a photo of all the volunteers, including me, wearing gloves. But people who use ‘Ilbe’-style language challenge me, asking, ‘Where is there such a rule?’”
He criticized them, saying, “These people won’t accept the facts even when they’re made clear,” and, “Their aim is to spread a negative image of me by any means.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter