Cho Gap-je: "If President Lee and Democratic Party Destroy Rule of Law, All Citizens Will Take to Streets... Must Exercise Veto"

- Revision to Criminal Procedure Act passed... Should call it 'Kim Yong-min Law'
- Fix it if problems arise? Are 50 million citizens lab animals?
- If President Lee declares 'Veto, No Withdrawal of Indictment, No Second Term,' he can seize state affairs initiative
- Jang Dong-hyeok is Democratic Party's strategic asset... 'Soul-pulling operation' targeting young people at Olympic Park
- Should have fought since prosecution dropped appeal in Daejang-dong case... Take joint responsibility
- Prolonging political life by selling impossible nationwide re-elections
- Exclude election deniers and conspiracy theorists from nominations... 70 lawmakers affected under criteria
- 'Lee effect' invisible in DP convention... Outlook on Kim Min-seok's dominance changes

■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 – 9:00 AM)
■ Date: August 3, 2026 (Monday)
■ Host: Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Cho Gap-je, CEO of ChoGabJe.com

[Kim Tae-hyun] Diagnosing the political scene through conservative eyes. We are joined by Cho Gap-je, CEO of ChoGabJe.com. Hello.

[Cho Gap-je] Hello.

[Kim Tae-hyun] The revision to the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at abolishing supplementary investigative authority has finally passed the National Assembly. Earlier, you mentioned, "If the president exercises his veto, he might become a hero." Your stance is still the same, right?

[Cho Gap-je] If he does not exercise his veto now, doesn't he become jointly responsible for destroying the rule of law? And right now, I think it's better to call this bill the 'Kim Yong-min Law.'

[Kim Tae-hyun] Why?

[Cho Gap-je] Because he led it. But listening to what he said, he said if there's a problem, we can just fix it. Doesn't that mean regarding 50 million citizens as laboratory animals? One should say it is perfect because there's absolutely no need to fix it.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Cho Gap-je] But doing it recklessly and saying we'll fix it if a problem arises? Isn't that an "if not, whatever" attitude? Furthermore, hasn't this overturned the very core of the rule of law that permanently affects all citizens? And there is clear unconstitutionality regarding this. There's no need to say more about that. Also, within the government itself, there were many arguments that this was unconstitutional, starting with Lee Seok-yeon, head of the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion and a constitutional scholar.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Cho Gap-je] President Lee Jae-myung himself thought there was a problem with this. If so, shouldn't he act? The president, as he said, is someone who unites the entire nation. And judging by the three standards of the Constitution, history, and the people, exercising the veto is the right choice. If he exercises his veto, I believe President Lee Jae-myung will become a hero. It would be even better if he added two more things: no withdrawal of indictments, and no second term. If he puts forward these three things, I believe he can take the initiative in state affairs.

[Kim Tae-hyun] But there are two points. First, there will be a burden for the president to veto a bill led by the ruling party. Second, because it passed on July 31, and the party convention is on August 17, the deadline to exercise a veto expires before then. From the president's perspective, even if he wants to exercise a veto, it might be less burdensome to see the convention results first, but with the deadline falling before the party convention, wouldn't it be practically difficult for the president to exercise a veto?

[Cho Gap-je] But the weight of the matter at hand is far too grave. Isn't this a system that has protected our citizens' safety for 72 years? Changing that is one thing, whereas whether Jung Cheong-rae wins or Kim Min-seok wins is a minor issue. So he is a person currently facing history—the president is. Therefore, it is a very lonely decision, but if such a decision comes out, his popularity will explode, and that will become his political power.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. Earlier, regarding your comment that it should be called the 'Kim Yong-min Law' because Representative Kim Yong-min led it—of course, whether Representative Kim Yong-min actually led it is something we cannot know for sure—the People Power Party has announced plans to file a constitutional complaint. Do you think legal action like this is necessary as well?

[Cho Gap-je] Of course it is necessary. This must be done on all fronts. I think there is a need to take to the streets over such issues. I think there is a need to come out to the square.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Mr. Cho, you originally don't really like taking to the streets, do you?

[Cho Gap-je] But this relates to the fundamental constitutional order. In the West, the highest compliment is 'lawgiver'—someone who made the laws. For example, people like Moses or Napoleon. The opposite word is 'lawbreaker,' someone who destroys the rule of law. If President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party take the path of destroying the rule of law, this is an issue over which the entire public should rise up.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. Then you are saying that PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok shouldn't be going to Olympic Park, but even if he engages in struggles against the ruling party or outdoor campaigns, he shouldn't be sitting at Olympic Park on such hot days, but should focus on this instead.

[Cho Gap-je] Representative Jang Dong-hyeok is the person who should bear joint responsibility for today's situation.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Why?

[Cho Gap-je] Wasn't this situation foreseen? Then they should have fought starting when the prosecution gave up appealing the Daejang-dong case in November last year. At that time, when Assemblyman Han Dong-hoon was fighting hard, if they had made him the head of a task force to fight, I don't think things would have reached this point. But they expelled former representative Han Dong-hoon. In the end, today's situation would not have come this far without the help of Representative Jang Dong-hyeok, a strategic asset for the Democratic Party. But what is he doing going to Olympic Park right now?

[Kim Tae-hyun] So speaking of the struggle against the ruling party and the Olympic Park issue: looking at the ruling side, there are headwinds, regardless of numbers like the president's approval ratings or the Democratic Party's approval ratings. Right now, because of the party convention, there are signs of internal division within the Democratic Party. The real estate market is bad, and after being good, the stock market performed very poorly in July. Usually, when there are many bad factors for the ruling party, the primary opposition party is supposed to benefit from that rebound as a rule. But evaluations say that isn't happening right now. We won't mention specific numbers, including poll results. Why do you think that is?

[Cho Gap-je] To fight like that, shouldn't they fight focused on the National Assembly and conduct a media campaign?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Public opinion campaign?

[Cho Gap-je] Why go to Olympic Park? What Representative Jang Dong-hyeok is doing at Olympic Park, I view as Jang Dong-hyeok's version of a 'yeongkkl' (soul-pulling) operation. You know 'yeongkkl' refers to pulling together young people's souls to invest. He is gathering young people's souls and turning it toward nationwide re-elections, effectively blowing it into thin air. Nationwide re-elections are impossible, right?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Impossible, yes.

[Cho Gap-je] Claiming nationwide re-elections and gathering young people's souls to do that—how is he going to handle the fallout? Isn't this fraud against the public?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Selling something that isn't even possible.

[Cho Gap-je] Right, so he is selling a product that won't work. And what young people need most urgently right now is getting jobs. So if doing that produced good results, it might be different, but he is misleading the pure hearts of young people. And isn't this nationwide re-election drive a campaign to nullify the June 3 local elections? Right?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Cho Gap-je] Isn't this legally problematic? How can this be?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Then are you saying Representative Jang Dong-hyeok is deceiving and exploiting the pure intentions of the 20s and 30s gathered at Olympic Park, who are protesting the infringement of their voting rights, with an impossible demand like nationwide re-elections?

[Cho Gap-je] That is the current situation.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Why? For his own political standing?

[Cho Gap-je] It seems like a way to prolong his political life, but there will probably be a reckoning for this. There will be a recount, right?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes, a recount.

[Cho Gap-je] Right now, if they recount about 2 million or 2.7 million votes, the outcome will be obvious. The conclusion is already clear. It has been proven that there was no election fraud. Then how will he shift his words after that?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. But Representative Cho, young people continue to gather at Olympic Park. Although media reports say those who initially led the protest moved toward Hongdae and other young adults in their 20s and 30s came in, people are still continuously there. And while Representative Jang Dong-hyeok used to walk around alone, recently, on YouTube screens, we see Assemblyman Kim Jang-gyeom on his right and Supreme Council member Cho Kwang-han on his left. Assemblyman Kim Tae-kyu is there, Assemblyman Park Chung-kwon, Assemblyman Kang Myeong-gu, and Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo can also be seen. About 15 incumbent lawmakers visited on Friday. Why did they go? Because instead of numbers dying down, as time passes, it's not fading. Incumbent lawmakers didn't participate at first, but the number grew to about 15. Looking at the list of 15, most are currently leadership or key party post holders.

[Cho Gap-je] Yes.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Anyway, about 15 lawmakers joined. Why do you think that is?

[Cho Gap-je] They would know why themselves. However, regarding such actions, someone needs to monitor them closely while underlining names.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Meaning checking who went?

[Cho Gap-je] As I mentioned last time, we need to create a list of people to exclude from nominations in 2028, and before making the list, we need to set criteria.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Criteria? Last time, you said Representative Jang was priority number one.

[Cho Gap-je] Not as a standalone criterion. As a criterion, a new standard must be added: shouldn't those advocating for nationwide re-elections be excluded from nominations? They are denying the election, which is a denial of suffrage. Besides that, I tried coming up with a few criteria: those who continue to defend insurrection leader Yoon Suk Yeol after the Constitutional Court ruled for his dismissal should be excluded from nominations. Also, those who protected or stayed silent about election fraud conspiracy theories. Those who claim the June 3 elections are void and demand nationwide re-elections, as I mentioned earlier. And do you know the slogan 'Stop the Steal'?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes, I know it.

[Cho Gap-je] People who shouted the 'Stop the Steal' slogan. Also, those who persecuted patriots like Han Dong-hoon, Cho Kyoung-tae, Kim Jong-hyuk, and Bae Hyun-jin. And members of the Party Affairs Audit Committee and Ethics Committee.

[Kim Tae-hyun] There's a lot of overlap.

[Cho Gap-je] Frequent guests on conspiracy theory YouTube channels. And those who make vulgar remarks or throw water bottles. Such people should be put on the nomination exclusion list. Apart from this, among journalists, scholars, and intellectuals, regardless of other things, those who fell for election fraud conspiracy theories and wrote or spoke about them—we should make a separate blacklist for them, and unless they reflect, they should be forced to lay down their pens.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Last week, you said Representative Jang Dong-hyeok was number one on the nomination exclusion list. You said so last week, and the day they visited Olympic Park was July 30. It was Thursday, July 30, not Friday. In an interview two weeks ago, you said Representative Jang was priority number one. Based on the criteria you just mentioned, do the 15 incumbent lawmakers who visited Olympic Park last Thursday qualify for nomination?

[Cho Gap-je] Except for Representative Jang Dong-hyeok, I prefer not to name specific individuals. We shouldn't decide based on looking at specific people. Criteria are important. Looking at the criteria I mentioned earlier, about 70 people would automatically be caught. And a nomination exclusion list came out from the Democratic Party as well, didn't it?

[Kim Tae-hyun] That's true.

[Cho Gap-je] 175 people.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Regarding nominations, Representative Jang said that although the general election is still two years away in terms of years, candidates should be nominated from among those who can fight for all four years. Since there is no immediate election, what does that mean?

[Cho Gap-je] What I want to ask is: who are they fighting against? They have never fought against the Democratic Party.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Representative Jang?

[Cho Gap-je] He has never won even once. Saying he will fight means fighting against sane conservatives. In short, it means fighting against the Han Dong-hoon faction, doesn't it?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Then why do you think he said this at this timing? Could it be a bid for a second term?

[Cho Gap-je] As I have repeatedly said, it is estimated that about 50% of People Power Party members believe in election fraud conspiracy theories.

[Kim Tae-hyun] That's a lot.

[Cho Gap-je] That is an estimate. He is saying he will align with that faction. He keeps talking about being party-member-centric. If they were normal party members, that would be one thing, but aligning with significantly distorted party members means giving up on being a public party and choosing to become a clique.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Then Representative Cho, looking at the PPP's current member structure and convention rules—80% party members, 20% public opinion...

[Cho Gap-je] All of it must change.

[Kim Tae-hyun] If it stays like this, couldn't Representative Jang win again if he runs?

[Cho Gap-je] But won't party members' views change? And right now, the biggest problem in our political scene is that there are extreme party members on both sides. Then shouldn't we clean up the party roster?

[Kim Tae-hyun] Is that so? Understood. Looking at morning newspapers today, regarding Representative Jang Dong-hyeok's 8-night, 10-day trip to the U.S.—the visit where he took that back-of-the-head photo and took a friendly photo with Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo in Washington—it reportedly cost over 200 million won.

[Cho Gap-je] I don't think it's a matter of money. Spending 2 billion won is fine if it's to do good work. The problem is, what did he achieve after spending 200 million won? That shoddy...

[Kim Tae-hyun] The photo?

[Cho Gap-je] I won't use the word 'shoddy.' Anyway, he said he met an Assistant Secretary, but later it turned out to be a Deputy Assistant Secretary.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Chief of Staff.

[Cho Gap-je] Deputy Assistant Secretary. In our terms, it's a bureau-director level official. If holding up meeting a bureau-director level official from a central ministry as his sole achievement is the standard, what happens to our national dignity? Also, during that period, they failed to field a candidate for Siheung mayor, resulting in an uncontested victory for the opponent. Siheung City has a population of over 500,000. He went to the U.S. during that time. Didn't he commit an act detrimental to the party? An act detrimental to the party.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. How do you view the Democratic Party convention? Briefly, please.

[Cho Gap-je] It is turning out to be much closer than expected. It's developing very interestingly. But what can be confirmed here is that the 'Lee Jae-myung effect' does not seem to be showing yet.

[Kim Tae-hyun] What do you mean by that?

[Cho Gap-je] President Lee Jae-myung actively backed candidate Kim Min-seok and checked former representative Jung Cheong-rae.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Cho Gap-je] That isn't clearly showing up in the vote shares in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam and Chungcheong regions.

[Kim Tae-hyun] So Kim Min-seok should be taking a decisive lead, but he isn't?

[Cho Gap-je] Right. Because the president stepped in.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Then who do you ultimately see winning? Judging by the early trends.

[Cho Gap-je] I think both candidates have a possibility of winning.

[Kim Tae-hyun] I could say that too. Candidate Jung Cheong-rae or Candidate Kim Min-seok. About two weeks ago, you said Candidate Kim Min-seok would likely win. Has your view changed now?

[Cho Gap-je] It has changed a little. It changed, but...

[Kim Tae-hyun] Meaning Candidate Jung Cheong-rae is holding up well?

[Cho Gap-je] After all, I think Democratic Party members' dilemma is judging whether their vote will make President Lee Jae-myung succeed or fail.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. We will end here today. We have been speaking with Cho Gap-je, CEO of ChoGabJe.com. Thank you.

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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.