Public apology with bowed head, private laughter. The dual face of concealment and evasion of responsibility. JoongAng Ilbo Graphic

The leadership of the Jo Guk Innovation Party has declared their collective resignation, and former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook has apologized for inappropriate remarks. However, attempts to simply mend this situation with apologies and resignations constitute deceiving the public. Given the emerging evidence of the party leadership systematically concealing sexual misconduct, this is not merely a political misstep but a criminal offense under the law and a challenge to the fundamental order of democracy.

The apology is a mere formality. The leadership of the Jo Guk Innovation Party vaguely attributed their actions to "insufficient effort," evading clear responsibility. They failed to specify what went wrong or who should be held accountable. Former lawmaker Choi Kang-wook also attempted to dilute the essence of his remarks by claiming he "did not target a specific individual." These are simply statements of evasion, ignoring the pain of the victim and the public's outrage.

Furthermore, former lawmaker Choi Kang-wook was previously disciplined in 2022 during a National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting for using sexually suggestive slang: "Did you record it? Hey, that X thing." The Democratic Party's Ethics Committee classified this as a sexually misconduct-related statement, issuing a six-month suspension of his political rights, which ultimately led to his departure from the party. Despite this, he returned to continue his political activities and has now caused another controversy by downplaying and belittling the suffering of sexual misconduct victims. This is not an isolated mistake but a repeated pattern of behavior, clearly demonstrating a lack of political conscience.

The problem does not end with individual misconduct. The Jo Guk Innovation Party leadership's circumstances of downplaying and concealing the incident could constitute crimes such as harboring a fugitive, destruction of evidence, or aiding and abetting a crime. This is why even women's human rights groups have urged the leadership to resign en masse, stating, "A party that condones sexual violence cannot speak of innovation." As criminal proceedings have already commenced with the victim's complaint, investigative agencies must immediately initiate searches and seizures to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the cover-up.

The political sphere has, up until now, escaped crises through formal gestures like voluntary withdrawal from the party or resignation. The result has been recurrence. If they follow the same path this time, the public will lose trust in the entire political establishment. Therefore, the Jo Guk Innovation Party must go beyond the leadership's resignation and officially expel the individuals involved and present measures to prevent recurrence. Former lawmaker Choi Kang-wook is an individual who should have been expelled from politics long ago for his repeated sexually misconduct-related remarks.

Concealment is a crime, and repetition cannot be excused. The Jo Guk Innovation Party has already forfeited its right to speak of innovation. Now, there is only one path to accountability before the public: expulsion and removal, followed by a compulsory investigation. Only then can minimal trust from the public be restored.

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