Published : Oct. 4, 2019 - 15:17
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party called for a probe into the justice minister over corruption allegations on Friday, one day after conservatives held a massive rally to demand his dismissal.
The conservative party ratcheted up its political attacks on Justice Minister Cho Kuk and the ruling party, apparently buoyed by Thursday's rally in downtown Seoul, in which the party claimed around 3 million people took part.
Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets in downtown Seoul, calling for President Moon Jae-in to sack him amid the prosecution's widening probe into corruption allegations surrounding his family.
(Yonhap)
"Moon should not make ordinary people angry anymore and should respond to (demands by) the public," LKP floor leader Na Kyung-won said at a party meeting.
"The prosecution should conduct an investigation into Cho, a key figure who stands at the center of this 'corruption gate,'" she said.
Cho's family has faced allegations of corruption, including his wife's suspected forgery of a college presidential citation to help their daughter gain admission to medical school and his family's dubious investment in a private equity fund.
His wife was questioned Thursday by the prosecution for its probe into the forgery allegations and suspected attempt to destroy related evidence. She was indicted last month on the charges.
Earlier in the day, state prosecutors also filed a warrant to arrest a younger brother of Cho over corruption allegations in connection with a private school foundation that Cho's mother is running.
The ruling Democratic Party, meanwhile, condemned the LKP for having orchestrated the rally at a time when Typhoon Mitag lashed out at the country's southern and eastern regions.
"The LKP gave up its role of a public party, only focusing on the rally in the time of an emergency disaster," DP chairman Lee Hae-chan said at a meeting with members of the leadership council.
"Hundreds of people were displaced due to the typhoon, but the party was engulfed in political wrangling and ignored damage of the storm in their constituencies," he added. (Yonhap)