Life Summary
Cho Kuk is the Emergency Committee Chair of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party.

After the declaration of martial law on December 3, he set “eradicating rebellion” as the party’s top priority. Following the resignation of the party leadership over a sexual misconduct scandal, he has been devoting his efforts to restoring the party’s normal operations as Emergency Committee Chair.

He was born on April 6, 1965, in Busan.

He graduated from the Department of Law at Seoul National University and earned both his master’s and doctoral degrees in law from the same university.

He completed his legal studies at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, majoring in criminal procedure.

He was imprisoned for six months on charges of aiding the Socialist Workers’ League (Sanomaeng). Shortly after his imprisonment, Amnesty International designated him as a prisoner of conscience.

He previously served as a professor at Seoul National University School of Law, a member of the Democratic Party’s Innovation Committee, and a member of the National Human Rights Commission.

During his tenure as a professor, he advocated for the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) and the redistribution of investigative powers between prosecutors and police.

With the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration, he was appointed Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs, serving the longest term among the Blue House aides. In this position, he oversaw personnel vetting, discipline among public officials, and reform of powerful state institutions.

After stepping down from the Blue House, he was nominated as Minister of Justice. During the confirmation hearings, various allegations surfaced, leading to a prosecution investigation and fierce political confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. He resigned from the post about a month after taking office.

In April 2024, he founded the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and became its leader. He ran as a proportional representation candidate in the 22nd general election and was elected.

As a scholar and activist outside the prosecution establishment, he has long represented the socially disadvantaged. However, his moral standing as a progressive intellectual was damaged by allegations of academic corruption involving his children during his ministerial appointment process.

During the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, he was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court and served eight months before being granted a special pardon by President Lee Jae-myung.

After his release, he returned to the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, first serving as Policy Innovation Committee Chair before being appointed Emergency Committee Chair.

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