Reform Party leader highlights 'contradiction' in Cho Jin-woong's retirement

In the wake of actor Cho Jin-woong’s announcement of retirement, splinter party leader Lee Jun-seok called out the "contradiction" in an actor having to retire due to past misdeeds but not the president.

Actor Cho Jin-woong [NEWS1]

In the wake of actor Cho Jin-woong’s announcement of retirement due to the public revelation of his juvenile crimes, Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok called out the "contradiction" in an actor having to retire due to past misdeeds but the president not being held to the same standard.

“The president is fine, but the actor has to retire — that’s the contradiction,” Lee wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

In his post, Lee referenced the president's past legal controversies, including drunk driving, impersonating a public official, assault and property damage. “The democratic vote in June showed that none of these were considered disqualifying for becoming president,” he wrote. “Voting results are always the clearest expression of public will, and I respect that.”

Lee continued, “Cho Jin-woong has denied charges of rape, though he ultimately admitted to assault. Yet he is retiring over a juvenile record.”

Lee also accused Democratic Party supporters of defending Cho on ideological grounds. “They’re now saying actors were never held to high moral standards and that Cho must be protected from a ‘political conspiracy,’” he wrote. “Some have even gone as far as to launch personal attacks on the journalist who reported on the case.”

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on Sept. 22. [NEWS1]

"I don’t place particularly high moral expectations on actors in the first place, so I don’t have strong thoughts on Cho’s case," he continued. "But if the head of state isn’t all that moral, then cases like this will always feel uncomfortable by comparison."

Cho announced his retirement after reports surfaced that he had been sent to a juvenile detention center in high school. “I deeply apologize to everyone who trusted and supported me for the disgraceful incidents in my past,” he said on Saturday. “I will accept all criticism with humility, end all activities as of today and bring my career as an actor to a close.”

His agency acknowledged part of Cho’s juvenile record but denied allegations of sexual assault.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY SHIN HYE-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]