President Trump gesturing at a press conference and Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok. Trump directly asked, "Could that special prosecutor be the crazy Jack Smith?" causing international repercussions. Composite by Hanmi Daily.

The criticisms directed at Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok are threefold.

① Abuse of Warrants — "Arresting someone already detained?"

The coercive investigation targeting former President Yoon Suk-yeol began in late 2024 when the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) obtained an arrest warrant, but its execution was thwarted by the Presidential Security Service.

The problem arose thereafter. When the special prosecutor for sedition was launched in June 2025, Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok's team immediately re-applied for an arrest warrant. The court dismissed it, citing the suspect's "intention to appear," but just ten days later, the special prosecutor requested a detention warrant, which was eventually issued.

Even more shocking was the attempt to request and execute an arrest warrant for a suspect who was already in custody.

Legal circles strongly protested this, calling it "an attempt at double detention that undermined the constitutional due process." This is why Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok is criticized as a prime example of a "political prosecutor" who shakes fundamental rights for political expediency.

② Allegations of Media Connections — "Without them, there would have been no candlelight protests."

There have been persistent allegations that Cho Eun-seok was deeply intertwined with the media during the impeachment proceedings of Park Geun-hye. Kim Ui-gyeom, then a reporter, stated publicly in an interview with Jeonbuk CBS (August 3, 2025) that "without Cho Eun-seok, there would have been no reporting on Choi Soon-sil, no candlelight protests, and no impeachment." This implies that a prosecutor was acting as an unofficial informant for the media.

KakaoTalk conversations revealed during the trial showed a prosecutor sending a message to a journalist stating, "Please maintain absolute secrecy regarding the existence and delivery of the tablet PC."

Given that the method of obtaining the tablet PC remains a mystery, the allegations involving Cho Eun-seok are significant. The blurring of lines between prosecutors and the media was precisely where Korean politics experienced upheaval.

③ Political Stigmatization — Targeting even the party membership list

The special prosecutor for sedition attempted to search the People Power Party's central headquarters, and eventually obtained part of the party membership list through voluntary submission.

However, the repercussions of this action were significant. Simply making the opposition party's core internal documents a subject of investigation was perceived as an attempt to politically frame them.

The approach of treating party officials and supporters, who had no direct connection to the sedition charges, as if they were "accomplices" drew criticism of stigmatizing the entire political opposition.

It appears that the method used during Park Geun-hye's impeachment, where public opinion was swayed using the tablet PC as a basis, is now being repeated with the party membership list.

Even international ridicule

At the Korea-US summit, President Lee Jae-myung presented a defensive argument, stating that the special prosecutor was "appointed by the National Assembly." However, President Trump interrupted him and directly asked, "Could that special prosecutor be the crazy Jack Smith? He is a sick person."

With this single remark, Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok became a symbol of political bias and a subject of ridicule in the international community. It was a moment when the credibility of Korean judiciary was shaken.

There are three suspicions that Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok must resolve.

1. Abuse of Warrants — Repeated coercive investigations that shook due process.

2. Media Connections — Transgressing the boundaries between the special prosecutor and the media.

3. Political Stigmatization — An investigation that implicated the entire opposition as accomplices.

Amidst the recurring controversy over "political prosecutors" during each government transition, this special prosecutor for sedition is becoming a symbolic case revealing the fragility of Korea's judicial system.

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