Liberation Day pardon restores Cho’s political rights, sparking debate over his role in ruling party’s strategy

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Monday issued a special Liberation Day pardon for former justice minister Cho Kuk, restoring his civil rights and making him eligible to run for public office again. The justice ministry said 2,188 people were granted pardons, including Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, who had been convicted on similar charges.

Cho, who briefly served as justice minister under former President Moon Jae-in, was convicted in Feb. 2023 of forging his children’s academic credentials to secure university admissions, violating an anti-graft law by accepting his daughter’s scholarship and abusing his authority to block a corruption investigation into a close aide of Moon. The Supreme Court upheld a two-year prison sentence in Dec. 2024, forcing him to forfeit his National Assembly seat as leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP). The pardon does not expunge his conviction.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Monday issued a special Liberation Day pardon for former justice minister Cho Kuk, restoring his civil rights and making him eligible to run for public office again. The justice ministry said 2,188 people were granted pardons, including Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, who had been convicted on similar charges.

Cho, who briefly served as justice minister under former President Moon Jae-in, was convicted in Feb. 2023 of forging his children’s academic credentials to secure university admissions, violating an anti-graft law by accepting his daughter’s scholarship and abusing his authority to block a corruption investigation into a close aide of Moon. The Supreme Court upheld a two-year prison sentence in Dec. 2024, forcing him to forfeit his National Assembly seat as leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP). The pardon does not expunge his conviction.

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