Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Research Institute, who stepped down as party leader after the defeat in the Pyeongtaek-B by-election, has volunteered to serve as a "red team" against the government and ruling party, pouring out sharp criticism.
While the stated aim is to repeatedly urge swift reform of government policy as a core member of the broad ruling bloc, some interpret it as a calculation by Cho, who has retreated to the second tier within the party, to maintain his influence as a "speaker" within the ruling camp by actively voicing his views on various issues.
According to political circles on the 6th, Cho wrote on his Facebook page on the 5th, "Because the ruling Democratic Party is remaining silent, I will speak clearly from the position of the red team," and criticized, "The government's introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is a clear policy failure." He argued for holding the presidential office and government policy line accountable, saying, "The current situation is a failure of state-controlled finance created by the government's core policymakers, led by Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom, including the presidential Office of Policy Planning, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service."
Cho pointed out, "Despite experts' warnings that it was hasty, the presidential policy chief pushed for its introduction and stirred up the mood, and 16 leveraged ETFs came to market right before the June 3 local elections." He added, "Afterward came FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin's remark that 'they should have lain down to block it.' One cannot but call the policy decision-making process a mystery."
He continued, "Kim, along with Office for Government Policy Coordination head Yoon Chang-ryul, FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won, and FSS Governor Lee, must each be held accountable," saying, "The entire process, from the incomprehensible and 'mysterious' introduction, to the belated response that magnified the damage, to the ineffective stopgap measures, must be uncovered from start to finish, and those responsible must take responsibility."
A day earlier, on the 4th, Cho panned the government's tax reform plan as "falling short of expectations." In another Facebook post, he criticized, "Exceptions and special provisions were expanded while the normalization of tax fairness was pushed back," pointing out, "The tax burden was strengthened only for multi-home owners of some ultra-high-priced apartments, while most high-priced home owners saw little change."
Regarding the comprehensive real estate tax reform, Cho said, "Changing the long-term holding tax deduction to one centered on long-term residence is the right direction," but noted, "The maximum deduction rate of 80% combined with the deduction for the elderly is still too high." He also criticized the extension of heavier capital gains taxes on multi-home owners as "something that undermines the predictability of the tax system."
Earlier, Cho ran in the Pyeongtaek-B by-election held alongside the June 3 local elections but finished third, losing to People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Eui-dong and Democratic Party candidate Kim Yong-nam. Cho stepped down as party leader, taking responsibility for the defeat in the election on which he had concentrated the party's strength.
Some interpret Cho's continued active statements since then as not unrelated to the situation of the Rebuilding Korea Party, whose standing within the broad ruling bloc has sharply shrunk after the election defeat. The view is that for the Rebuilding Korea Party, in which Cho's influence is absolute, to sustain its presence, Cho's political voice must continue to be maintained.
In political circles, the outlook is that Cho, despite the election defeat, still solidly retains a support base within the broad ruling bloc, including the pro-Moon Jae-in faction, and will use this as a weapon to continue his active "sharp criticism." For the Democratic Party as well, since the cooperation of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a core part of the broad ruling bloc, remains necessary, keeping an appropriate distance also has the effect of boosting its negotiating power.
A ruling camp official said, "Since the Rebuilding Korea Party is a party whose very existence is difficult without Cho, even though he has laid down the leadership post, they have no choice but to ask him to play the role of 'big speaker.'"
Amid this, Cho is reported to be set to embark on public activities by holding a special lecture next month in Shinan County, South Jeolla Province. As it is an activity in the Honam region, the party's support base, some interpret it as a step toward resuming political activity.
