South Korean Justice Minister Resigns after 36 days

[soryang]

Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigns Hankyoreh
Posted on : Oct.14,2019 17:46 KST Modified on : Oct.14,2019 17:46 KST

Justice Minister Cho Kuk announced his resignation on Oct. 14, just 36 days after being appointed on Sept. 9.

On Oct. 14, Cho released a statement saying, “My role as kindling [for prosecutorial reform] ends here,” adding, “Today, I step down as Justice Minister.”

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/913148.html

The right wing Liberty Korea party is now calling for President Moon Jae In to resign in an attempt to follow the pattern that rendered the earlier liberal presidency of Ro Mu Hyun ineffectual.

While the story of the prosecutorial reforms and Cho's resignation are dominating South Korean headlines, the real power struggle between the right and left focus around the electoral reforms that have been "fast tracked" in the National Assembly. Moon Jae In's declining polls and the Cho Kuk family scandal allegations dominate this morning's news coverage. Nevertheless, democratic and progressive party allies still control the National Assembly until the April 15 elections when the Liberty Korea Party could lose seats if the electoral reform bill goes into effect eroding its base with new proportional representation seats. It is believed that democratic party members urged Moon to have Cho resign because of their concern about declining support in the polls.

The fundamental issue, involves the resistance of the conservative party to fast track of the legislative electoral reforms which would weaken their representation in the National Assembly. The number of proportional voting seats in the assembly of 300 representatives would increase from 47 to 75 giving greater representation to democratic or progressive parties. The estimated effect could be to reduce the number of LKP seats from 117 to 97. This is the crux of the matter really. Additionally, there is a strong regional basis to the right wing vote in South Korea that has been a barrier to reform for decades, used to preserve and protect the interests of chaebol families, corporate management, and legacy pro-Japanese interests. The legislative electoral reform could potentially weaken or temporarily eliminate this obstacle after the next election April 15.