Overview

• President Lee Jae Myung granted Cho Kuk and his wife Chung Kyung-sim pardons through a special Liberation Day amnesty, ending Cho’s eight-month prison term for academic fraud and interference charges.
• The clemency restores Cho’s eligibility to run for public office and overturns restrictions that had barred him until December 2031.
• Upon his release, Cho thanked President Lee and sharply criticized the main opposition People Power Party and former President Yoon Suk Yeol for alleged prosecutorial abuses.
• Conservative lawmakers denounced the pardon as a politically motivated undermining of judicial accountability, while liberal figures praised it as a move toward reconciliation.
• Rebuilding Korea Party leaders have scheduled Cho’s formal reinstatement next week, a step analysts say could reshape the liberal bloc’s strategy in next year’s local elections and the 2027 presidential contest.