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| ▲ Lawmakers of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party head to a general meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 8, 2025. (Yonhap) |
minor party-sexual misconduct
Minor Rebuilding Korea Party in turmoil after leadership quits over sexual misconduct scandal
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- The minor Rebuilding Korea Party has been in turmoil after its top leaders resigned en masse amid intensifying scrutiny over the party's handling of sexual misconduct cases.
On Sunday, acting leader Kim Sun-min and all members of the party's supreme council stepped down, just days after spokesperson Kang Mi-jeong quit in protest of what she called the party's lukewarm response to a series of sexual harassment and workplace bullying cases that took place within the party since last year.
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who founded and previously led the party, has faced criticism for distancing himself from the scandal, despite returning to politics last month under a special presidential pardon.
Cho, who currently heads the party's policy think tank, is seen as a central figure widely expected to reclaim the party chairmanship during a national convention in November.
Cho expressed his condolences to the victims last week but stressed that he was stripped of party membership at the time and "had no role in the official disciplinary process."
During a general meeting of its lawmakers on Monday, the party failed to reach an agreement on forming the emergency leadership committee, including whether Cho should lead it. The lawmakers decided to continue their discussions the following day amid the victims' resistance to Cho assuming the role.
The party remains cautious as to whether Cho should take charge of the committee, with some insisting that he should take on the role to steer the embattled party out of the crisis and others arguing his early return to the leadership would be inappropriate and politically burdensome.
In April, a senior official of the party was sued on charges of sexually assaulting his colleague, while another official was accused of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. The party later expelled the former and suspended the latter's membership for one year. Around 10 party members are believed to be victims involved in the scandal, according to Kang.
Meanwhile, Choe Kang-wook, head of the ruling Democratic Party's education and training institute, resigned Sunday after coming under fire for downplaying the scandal.
Both Cho and Choe were granted special pardons by President Lee Jae Myung on the occasion of Liberation Day last month.
Cho was serving a two-year prison term for academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection before his release.
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