SONG APOLOGIZES ABOUT CHO KUK SCANDAL

[Anchor Lead]

In the wake of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s publication of his memoir, Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil apologized for the so-called Cho Kuk incident after listening to the opinions of ordinary Koreans. The disgraced minister’s book criticized the prosecution’s investigation into his family and himself. Song must have decided to court the moderates before the next presidential election. Nonetheless, he emphasized the need for prosecution reform and said that the same standards of investigation should be applied to the corruption allegations of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s family as to Cho Kuk’s family.

[Pkg]

Some members of the Democratic Party believe the ruling bloc must apologize sincerely for the so-called Cho Kuk incident while others feel it isn’t right for the party to step up and issue an apology. While the debate rages on, DP leader Song Young-gil apologized for the college admission scandal involving the former Justice Minister.

[Soundbite] Song Young-gil(Democratic Party Leader) : "Those of us who have championed fairness and justice more loudly than anyone and punished others should reflect sharply whether we have abided by those principles when it comes to matters concerning ourselves and our children."

Aside from the legal issues, Cho's actions put countless young people into despair. The party leader said he had listened to the people and realized that the issue was fairness. He also apologized for the sexual harassment allegations involving two former mayors, Oh Keo-don of Busan and Park Won-soon of Seoul. Song likely has realized that the Democratic Party’s image of double standards must be removed and that it should court the moderates ahead of the presidential election. However, he differentiated the Cho Kuk issues and the prosecution reform.

[Soundbite] Song Young-gil(Democratic Party Leader) : "The standards of prosecution investigation on former minister Cho Kuk’s family should be applied equally to the corruption allegations of the families of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and other prosecutors."

According to a key party official, Song tried to make balanced remarks in consideration of the protest from the fierce pro-Cho supporters. Immediately after Song’s public apology, Cho issued a message. He said the Democratic Party should forget about him and focus on reform instead and should walk over him to go forward. Ramifications from Song’s apology are likely to continue as some people feel the admission wasn’t satisfactory while strong supporters of Cho denounce his action.