Cho Gap-je: "Jang Dong-hyeok Is an Enemy of Conservatism... Oh Se-hoon, Han Dong-hoon, and Lee Jun-seok Are Conservative Assets"

[Joo Young-jin's News Briefing]

When quoting this interview, please accurately credit the program name 'SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing>'. SBS holds the copyright.

■ Broadcast: SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing> Mon–Fri (14:00–15:20)
■ Host: Anchor Joo Young-jin
■ Guest: Cho Gap-je, Head of Chogabje.com
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● Interview with Cho Gap-je, Head of Chogabje.com

"Jang Dong-hyeok is not qualified to speak of conservatism... He is an enemy of conservatism"
"The People Power Party gave up its role as the opposition for a year and aided the ruling party's runaway actions"
"Conservative values are the Constitution, facts, common sense, and competence... Jang Dong-hyeok is incompetent and rude"
"Jang Dong-hyeok has no interest in retaking power... His only goal is maintaining party leadership"
"The essence of politics is a power struggle... No one is willing to fight"
"The People Power Party's ideological battle is a fight between Han Dong-hoon and Yoon Suk Yeol"
"Oh Se-hoon, Han Dong-hoon, and Lee Jun-seok are assets to South Korean conservatism"
"President Lee must restore supplementary investigative authority and refrain from talking about constitutional reform"
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▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: As mentioned earlier, we will now begin our interview with Cho Gap-je, Head of Chogabje.com. Welcome. How have you been doing lately?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: I've been busy in various areas.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: In various areas. You've also been doing many media interviews.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: I have diverse interests, so I watch movies and follow Major League Baseball every day, among other things.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: You watch Major League Baseball every day? Did Lee Jung-hoo hit a home run today? There were reports that he hit his 10th home run.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: I've been watching how Ohtani is doing. Today, he finished with one triple.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: You're very interested in Ohtani as well. But is your biggest focus still politics, particularly how conservative parties should move forward?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: That's right. In fact, an opposition party's typical role is to keep the Lee Jae-myung administration in check so the public can feel at ease. When the opposition is strong, citizens can sleep soundly, but because the opposition party is faltering, it causes a great deal of frustration.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Party Leader Jang Dong-hyeok held a press conference today marking his first year in office. He emphasized that he will work even harder for another year, that he has absolutely no intention of stepping down, that he will establish new conservative values, and that he will form solidarity with all forces that agree with those values. What did you think of that?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: Right now, he is someone who is not qualified to speak of conservatism. I view him as an enemy of conservatism.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: An enemy of conservatism. Those are strong words.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: They are not merely strong words—isn't he part of the faction following Yoon Suk Yeol? And these days, isn't he pushing election fraud conspiracy theories? Conservatism shouldn't act like this. Moreover, what the People Power Party has done over the past year has followed Yoon Suk Yeol's line nearly 90% of the time. After the June 3 local elections, I believe it became almost 100% pure Yoon Suk Yeol party. There are two criteria: is there even a single lawmaker within the People Power Party right now who meaningfully condemns Yoon Suk Yeol's illegal martial law and Yoon Suk Yeol's election fraud conspiracy theories?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Did seeing Leader Jang Dong-hyeok attend rallies at Olympic Park almost every day and claim election fraud and demand a revote solidify that thought?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: No, isn't this impossible demagoguery? It was a ballot paper shortage issue, wasn't it? It was poor management. Yet, calling that nationwide election fraud, when 27 million people voted on June 3—aren't they trying to invalidate that? They want to hold a revote. There is only one way to invalidate an election: staging a coup to seize power and voiding the previous election. But how can the People Power Party just stand by and watch this? Of course, Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik thought differently and expressed the view that claiming election fraud is problematic, but when the party leader behaves like that, don't we have to see it as the entire party heading in that direction? The problem is that while doing so, they failed to stop the ruling party's runaway actions. In short, summarizing the past year in one phrase, they abandoned the role of the opposition party. Beyond just abandoning it, they aided the ruling party's excesses. How did they help? By expelling former leader Han Dong-hoon, who fights best against the ruling party, they missed a decisive opportunity. Last November, taking the abandonment of the appeal in the Daejang-dong case as an opportunity, Mr. Han Dong-hoon waged a very effective media campaign, shifting public opinion. The ruling bloc was driven considerably into a corner. Didn't they stab him in the back at that very opportunity? If Han Dong-hoon and the People Power Party had united solidly and the entire conservative camp had rallied and taken to the streets and plazas back then, I believe it wouldn't have gone as far as dropping the charges, nor would they have been able to abolish the supplementary investigative authority. At that decisive moment, Leader Jang Dong-hyeok sided with the Democratic Party. Isn't recent history the same? On June 3, didn't the public deliver their judgment? Then there was time to regroup. If they had reorganized at that time, I believe they could have stopped things like the abolition of the supplementary investigative authority this time as well. Instead of doing so, they settled it internally and went off to Olympic Park to demand an unfeasible nationwide revote. How is this conservatism?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: What are the conservative values you believe in, Head Cho?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: The Constitution, facts, and common sense.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: The Constitution, facts, and common sense.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: And there must be competence. Historically, hasn't conservatism been the force that built a great civilization? Syngman Rhee's founding spirit, Park Chung-hee's modernization, and Kim Young-sam's democratization. If you are not competent, you are not conservative. But Leader Jang Dong-hyeok's characteristics are incompetence and rudeness.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Since you are criticizing him so harshly, I feel we might also need to invite someone who supports Leader Jang Dong-hyeok to hear their perspective.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: I base my views on facts, and what I consider most critical is the election fraud conspiracy theory.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: You mean that's something that should never have been said.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: Today he talked about party member sovereignty. There are a few countries with parties that practice party member sovereignty—they are all Communist Parties. Does the Constitution have a clause stating that party members hold sovereignty? Lawmakers do not represent party members. Nor do they represent regions. According to the Constitution, they represent the national interest. The term 'party member sovereignty' means party members intend to control lawmakers. All such parties are Communist Parties. Why? Because the party controls the state, right? The party sits above the state and the people. That is party member sovereignty. But can we trust People Power Party members right now? By my calculation, I believe about 50% believe in election fraud conspiracy theories.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: 50 percent.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: 50 percent. And there are likely many people with dual party memberships. There are probably also people dispatched from religious organizations. Leaving that as is, those people dictate lawmakers, and leadership seeks to continually maintain power. I believe a significant number of People Power Party lawmakers and Leader Jang Dong-hyeok have no interest in retaking governing power. Their goal is solely maintaining party leadership—expanding such party members, empowering them, and moving in a direction contrary to the general, common-sense thinking of the public, while still keeping party power. I see that as their goal.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: You've put it that way, but practically and realistically speaking, unless Leader Jang Dong-hyeok, who was elected at a national convention by party members, resigns on his own, and unless four supreme council members resign to dissolve the leadership, there is no way to force Leader Jang Dong-hyeok out. Isn't that the dilemma for politicians inside the People Power Party who disagree with Leader Jang?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: But that's because they do nothing and refuse to fight. Isn't the essence of politics a power struggle? Politics is different from socializing. Didn't Mao Zedong say this: Revolution is not a dinner party; politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed. Politics and war are the same. Therefore, to replace Leader Jang Dong-hyeok, someone must fight. They need to get down in the mud and struggle. Most of them just offer commentary. When they do that, they are just dragged along, and the more they are dragged along, the further they drift from the thinking of the public, leading to defeat in elections. If they continue like this, won't they lose the election? They will lose by an even bigger margin.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik has reportedly invited former President Park Geun-hye to a party workshop. How do you view this?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: It means they are trying to find a path forward for the People Power Party, but if so, shouldn't they invite a success story—someone who succeeded—and ask them? Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon succeeded. Ultimately, the ideological battle in the People Power Party is a fight between the Han Dong-hoon line and the Yoon Suk Yeol line. Right now, Leader Jang Dong-hyeok, who walks the Yoon Suk Yeol line, holds party power, but hasn't that line already been legally judged as the ringleader of insurrection? The Han Dong-hoon line is ultimately the Republic of Korea line—a line defending the republic. Furthermore, former President Park Geun-hye is someone who was impeached. When a president is impeached, it means they were incompetent. To invite a failed politician and ask about the future of the People Power Party—isn't that far too regressive?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Some people seem to think that during the conservative heyday under Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, maintaining power across administrations for nine years—regardless of public evaluation—they were the key figures who won presidential elections. Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik is also said to be visiting former President Lee Myung-bak soon. Some say this reflects the current state of the People Power Party: how desperate must they be to look for a way out like this? Listening to you today, you've praised Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon a lot, so let me ask this. I discussed this earlier with other guests—there are four figures: Yoo Seung-min, Oh Se-hoon, Lee Jun-seok, and Han Dong-hoon. I raised the question of whether these four could join forces to realign the conservative party. If I pose that question to you, how would you respond?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: First, the People Power Party's problem must be resolved. The People Power Party is currently in a state of coexistence between the leadership faction that believes in election fraud and those being dragged along. This cannot last long. They cannot coexist. Believing in election fraud conspiracy theories, in short, means one is out of their mind. And people who are out of their mind cannot go along with sane people, so they need to split. Splitting is better for both sides. However, the minority leadership faction will try to drag the majority of helpless lawmakers along to keep holding party leadership. In this state, Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon cannot be reinstated, and even if he were, it would be meaningless. How this structure will change is that at some point, the majority of lawmakers will reach a stage where they realize they will lose the general election if things continue this way. Then, the figures mentioned earlier—Han Dong-hoon, Oh Se-hoon, Lee Jun-seok. These three,

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: And Yoo Seung-min.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: Leaving out former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. These three are valuable assets to South Korean conservatism. They will inevitably play crucial roles in rebuilding South Korean conservatism in the future. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min pushed things far too hard during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. How can anyone explain or justify joining hands with the left wing to impeach a president who was fighting against the left wing, when it didn't even constitute grounds for impeachment? Of course, the impeached President Park Geun-hye bore blame. Setting that aside, it was not grounds for impeachment. What was the interference in state affairs back then? Did she commit near-treason? Did she plot rebellion? That burden is too heavy. So I believe these three individuals have plenty of potential. Depending on how their potential connects with self-driven efforts within the People Power Party, won't things change significantly by around next year?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Speaking of which, regarding the Constitutional Court's ruling at that time, it was an undeniable fact that a president delegated power by the people allowed an unelected individual to exercise that power, which in any case violated the spirit of our Constitution.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: It was a violation. It was a violation, but as to whether it was grounds for impeachment, I do not agree.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Understood. We will leave that point there. Moving on to President Lee Jae-myung's approval ratings—you met President Lee before the presidential election and perhaps also after he became president. How do you assess it? Overall, he strongly emphasized centrism and pragmatic policies to get things done, but his approval ratings have been declining somewhat since the local elections. Some polls today show ratings dropping into the 30% range. What should be done to rebound?

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: I think approval ratings are not the issue right now; it's for the sake of the country.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: For the country.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: As for suggestions or advice—calling it advice might be presumptuous—there are about three things I'd like to mention. First, the supplementary investigative authority must be restored quickly.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Restore the supplementary investigative authority.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: Even President Lee Jae-myung judged that there were excessive aspects. Second, there is something no one is pointing out: the special investigative police, or special investigation, judicial...

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Special Judicial Police.

▶ Cho Gap-je / Head of Chogabje.com: That is the problem. There are over 10,000 of them. Administrative civil servants are playing the role of judicial police in fields like labor and the environment. These people are currently in a state of panic. Because administrative civil servants without proper knowledge of law or criminal investigation have been conducting investigations, prosecutors had previously guided them well. They carried out their work trusting prosecutors, but prosecutorial guidance has now disappeared. So they must be terrified to investigate. Make a misstep, and you face the crime of distortion of law. Therefore, these two things must be restored quickly. Only then can we temporarily reduce the side effects felt by citizens in daily life. Next, politically, the withdrawal of prosecution must be overturned, and constitutional amendment must not be pursued. They must stop talking about constitutional reform. Constitutional reform is impossible. In addition, there is a grand vision to build an AI-leading nation. Focus must be placed on that, and the North Korean nuclear issue will become immensely critical going forward. In particular, as President Trump seeks to meet Kim Jong Un, President Lee Jae-myung is likely to be sidelined. He should take care of these matters and leave the rest to fate. Having done his best to become president, what is there to fear? What does someone who became president have to be afraid of? What if he goes to prison after leaving office? If he does well, will they send him to prison? If he does well and finishes with applause...

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Understood. You shared what areas should be focused on. We will conclude our interview here. That was our interview with Cho Gap-je, Head of Chogabje.com. Thank you for your time.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.