Cho Gab-je, head of Chogabje.com. [Yonhap]
Cho Gab-je, head of Chogabje.com. [Yonhap]

Conservative commentator Cho Gab-je, head of Chogabje.com, urged President Lee Jae Myung ahead of a press conference scheduled for Friday to withdraw the nomination of Kim Seung-won as justice minister candidate and to make clear that no criminal charges will be dropped.

Cho wrote on his Facebook page Thursday that the affair amounted to "a case of lobbying for a toxic new drug, a case of suppressing a public-interest whistleblower — Han Dong-hoon — and a case of threatening public health."

He said the "Lee Jae Myung Democratic Party administration has abandoned its duty to protect law-abiding citizens and is siding with wrongdoers," adding that "civic action is now needed at the level of national survival." He warned that if the situation escalates into state suppression of the public, "the right of popular resistance may be called for," and added that "rational citizens who oppose Yoon Suk Yeol and the theory of a by-election conspiracy will take the lead."

Cho urged that the president's press conference on Friday produce four clear positions: first, that no criminal charges will be withdrawn; second, that the nomination of Kim as justice minister candidate will be rescinded; third, that the clinical administration of a toxic new drug to 93 patients will be immediately investigated and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety audited; and fourth, that the Democratic Party's threats against the public-interest whistleblower will be stopped.

He said that if Lee fails to take a clear stance, the president could face a backlash similar to the one that befell Lee Ki-bung, the former Liberal Party vice-presidential candidate.

"Lee Ki-bung, the Liberal Party's vice-presidential candidate-elect, said of the incident in which police opened fire on protesters in Masan, killing and wounding dozens, 'Guns weren't given to be played with,'" Cho wrote. "That remark enraged the public and brought on the April 19 Revolution. If the president cannot rein in the Democratic Party degenerates who are now stoking public fury, his approval rating will fall into the 20s — and if that happens, serious internal strife will break out within the Democratic Party," he warned.

He added that a prediction made three months ago by lawmaker Han Dong-hoon — that the Jung Chung-rae faction might move to impeach Lee Jae Myung — "has begun to feel real." He also said, "Naive Koreans will applaud if President Lee makes a U-turn. People may curse, but no one prays for the country to collapse."


jshan@heraldcorp.com