Cho Kuk

Cho Kuk (; born 6 April 1965 ) is a South Korean politician who served as the leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party in 2024 and from 2025 to 2026. He previously held office as the senior secretary to the president for civil affairs from 2017 to 2019, as the minister of justice from September to October 2019, and as a member of the National Assembly of South Korea from May to December 2024.

Born in Seo District, Busan, Cho graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Doctor of Juridical Science before becoming a professor at Seoul National University School of Law. Beyond academia, he was active in a range of civic and advocacy organizations concerned with human rights, such as the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. He entered politics as a senior presidential aide for civil affairs under the cabinet of Moon Jae-in from May 2017 to July 2019. Cho was subsequently appointed Minister of Justice, a position he held from September 2019 until his resignation on 14 October 2019 due to his involvement in a series of controversies, including allegations of corruption surrounding his family's business activities.

In 2023, Cho was convicted of falsifying documents in connection with his children's college admissions and sentenced to two years in prison. In March 2024, he founded the Rebuilding Korea Party ahead of the 2024 South Korean legislative election. In December 2024, the South Korea Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling, effectively disqualifying him from his seat in the 22nd National Assembly of South Korea and barring him from running for office for five years. As a result, he lost his seat in the National Assembly and was barred from running for public office for five years under South Korean law.

He was pardoned by President Lee Jae Myung on 11 August 2025, restoring his eligibility to run for office again. Following his release from prison, the Rebuilding Korea Party reinstated his membership. Cho was elected as the party's leader in November 2025 with 98.6% approval. Following his loss in the Pyeongtaek-B constituency in Gyeonggi during the 2026 South Korean local elections, Cho announced his resignation as party leader.

Early life and education Cho was born in Seo District, Busan, South Korea in 1965, Cho Byun-hyun (died in 2013),

He attended Gudeok Elementary School in Busan, then moved to Seoul and studied at Daesin Middle School. After he returned to Busan, he finished his secondary education at Hyekwang High School. then at Dongguk University

Political career Cho showed interest in politics at the end of the 1980s, while studying at university.

Since the 2000s, Cho has been involved in various activities related to human rights and democracy. He was a member of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, and its successor Democratic Unionist Party suggested that he run for a position as member of the National Assembly in Bundang 2nd constituency. He promised a clear investigation of the 2016 South Korean political scandal. but also attacked by the Liberty Korea Party.

Cho was replaced by Kim Joe-won on 26 July 2019.

Minister of Justice (2019) On 9 August 2019, Cho was nominated for the position of Minister of Justice replacing Park Sang-ki, by President Moon. He quoted General Yi Sun-sin and promised political reform. Cho subsequently resigned on 14 October, just 35 days after taking office due to a prosecution probe into various allegations surrounding his family.

Political positions

Cho is often regarded as liberal, He also mentioned that people should not argue with the criminality of abortion.

For issues related to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), Cho announced that the government is not only for KCTU and impossible to satisfy their demands.

Cho also claims that the government should induce major companies to lower their salary, to enforce equality between workers in major businesses and workers in smaller businesses.

Cho called the declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol on 3 December 2024 "illegal" and said it met conditions for the impeachment of Yoon and Kim Yong-hyun, the minister of national defense.

Controversies

Plagiarism Leaders of Seoul National University's General Student Council chant slogans during a rally at the school campus in Seoul on 5 September 2019, to voice their objection to the possible appointment of Cho Kuk, who is facing allegations of ethical lapses.Cho was frequently accused of plagiarism. In July 2013, Song Pyung-in of The Dong-A Ilbo and a conservative commentator Byun Hee-jae had mentioned that Cho plagiarized several theses written by Japanese scholars during his studies at Seoul National University in 1989. He replied that he underwent some problems with citations, although "unsure because it was long time ago", but then he apologized for it.

On 26 June 2015, Seoul National University issued a statement that some issues with his papers were found, though they were not serious. A few months after the incident, both commentators claimed again that Cho's plagiarism continued at University of California, Berkeley in 1997. In response, Professor John Yoo said that no rechecking is required. Berkeley also mentioned that there was no proof for the accusations.

Tax delinquencies Cho faced another criticisms regarding tax delinquencies related to the Ungdong Institute. CO-LINK invested in a Korean company that is contracted in a multi-billion dollar computer network project in South Korea.

On 27 August 2019, a search warrant was carried out by the prosecutor's office on suspect sites. On 29 August, the former wife of Cho's younger brother Cho Kwon, Cho Eun-hyang, who is listed as the owner or CEO of many of Cho Kuk's family businesses and properties, was denied boarding on an international flight out of Gimhae International Airport. Despite two full days of news reports, she claimed she was not aware of the flight ban placed on her.

On 31 October 2019, Cho Kuk's younger brother, Cho Kwon, was arrested on charges of embezzlement and bribery. These charges were later dropped.

Falsification of academic achievements of Cho Min

A scandals came from his pending nomination as the Minister of Justice, mainly concerning Cho Kuk's falsification of academic achievements of his daughter, Cho Min.

Cho Min, and her parents Cho Kuk and Chung Kyung-sim, have been accused of falsifying her academic achievements to gain admission into prestigious universities and the medical school. Falsified academic achievements include her research in genetics and pathology, one which has since been retracted for violation of ethical guidelines. A senior association of medical experts in South Korea condemned the paper as one of the most serious cases of academic misconduct in South Korean history and compared it to the Hwang Woo-suk scandal.

On 31 December 2019, Cho was indicted on 12 charges over his role in his children's college admissions, including for bribery and corruption, but was not detained. In January 2020, Cho was removed from his teaching position at Seoul National University. In February 2023, Cho was sentenced to two years prison for falsely submitting documents attesting that his son had completed an internship and forging his daughter's academic credentials. In June 2023, Seoul National University expelled him from their faculty of law.

On 12 December 2024, Cho's conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Korea, paving the way for his losing his seat in the National Assembly and his eligibility to run in presidential elections until 2029. Cho reported to prison on 16 December, after he successfully requested prosecutors to allow him to address official duties and the succession of Rebuilding Korea's leadership.

Arrest of Chung Kyung-sim On 10 September 2019, shortly after Cho Kuk's nomination hearing, his wife, Chung Kyung-sim, was officially indicted for forgery of a document by the prosecutor's office. When asked what should happen should his wife face charges, Cho replied that she should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. He did not add that he would withdraw or resign from the nomination.

On 24 October Chung Kyung-sim was charged on 15 counts, including obstruction of business, insider trading, embezzlement, and withholding evidence. On 23 December 2020, she was found guilty on 11 charges, and sentenced to four years in prison and a total of (equivalent to around $500,000 US) in fines and "unlawful gains". The embezzlement charges were dismissed. The sentence was upheld by the supreme court on 27 January 2022.

Pardon Cho and his wife were pardoned by President Lee Jae Myung on 11 August 2025, restoring his eligibility to run for office again. His membership in the Rebuilding Korea, which was revoked following his conviction, was restored by party's supreme council on 21 August, and he was appointed to head the party's policy think tank.

Cho was elected as the party's leader in November 2025 with 98.6% approval.