By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Rep. Cho Jin-hyeong of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) has many loyal voters due to his charity work, according to local campaign watchers. Cho, 66, has provided many local child breadwinners with scholarships over the past 20 years.
Back in the late 1950s Cho, then a 14-year-old boy, moved to the small town of Bupyeong, Incheon, along with his parents and two siblings after completing elementary school.
The parents of the three children, natives of Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, left their hometown for better opportunities, and five decades later, the teenage boy has become a self-made businessman as well as a third-term lawmaker concurrently serving as chairman of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee.
``There is no alarm clock at my home. I can wake up any time in the morning, and my eyes automatically open at the time that I decided to wake up at the day before,'' Cho said in an interview with The Korea Times.
Cho's total wealth is about 80 billion won (approximately $60 million) as of 2008, making him the second richest politician among 299 lawmakers following GNP Representative Chung Mong-joon, a son of the late business tycoon Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai Group.
``I've never felt that I am rich. I have tried to be frugal as much as possible, and continued to work hard from early morning till late at night from my childhood years,'' said Cho.
The lawmaker said working hard and diligence are the legacies that his eventful childhood and adult years have bestowed on him.
Cho's father, a farmer and vendor who grew agricultural products and sold them at an Incheon market, passed away when he was a high school freshman.
Shortly after his father died, Cho transferred to nighttime classes and helped his mother at the market during the day.
``I took night classes for seven years in total ― three years at high school and four years in college. During the years, I woke up early in the morning and went to bed around two o'clock to balance my daytime job and school curriculum,'' said Cho.
The lawmaker hinted optimism and never giving-up are the two major values that drove him to be successful in both business and politics.
``No matter how challenging circumstances threaten me, I have never given up nor felt frustrated. I always try to look at the positive side of my life and count up what I achieved that day. The joy from my day-to-day accomplishments helped me move forward, instead of complaining about the hostile environment facing me,'' he said.
Building trust is another core value that is necessary to be a highly accomplishing person, he noted.
``Trust equals money for those who are involved in business. I always try to make the right decision, meaning one that makes sense and is reasonable to everyone.
``If I feel that I can't accept a particular offer, I always say no, even though my decision could end up dealing a blow to my political career. Decisiveness is regarded as a value for businesspeople, but it seems not to be the case for politicians,'' said the lawmaker with a bitter smile.
Cho confessed that his decisiveness often became a stumbling block in his political career because he said politicians are supposed to be flexible.
``If I were great at dealing with smear campaigns, I might not have undergone unsuccessful bids twice in the 2000 and 2004 National Assembly elections,'' he said.
Cho described himself as a politician having poor ``diplomatic skills.''
Cho began his political career in 1988 when he applied for the candidacy of the National Assembly elections as a ruling party candidate, but he was not chosen in the internal selection of candidates.
After being eliminated, Cho was determined to run in the election in the Bupyeong district as an independent candidate. His bid was unsuccessful.
Four years later, he won the election and was then reelected as a ruling party candidate in the 1996 elections.
His eventful political career didn't end with the two unsuccessful campaigns in 2000 and 2004 as instead they tested his eagerness to lead a political career, he noted.
Asked if there were any moments in his life where he regretted his career choice as an elected politician, he said, ``Not exactly.''
``I have pursued a life that is righteous. I can play golf as well as other businesspeople, but spending my life playing golf or traveling to foreign countries is not the one I was seeking,'' Cho said.
The lawmaker said the community helped him become wealthy and accomplish a lot, therefore, now was the time for him to give back to society. He feels that he can do this through the Assembly position.
``There are about 200,000 eligible voters in my district, and about 45,000 of them are loyal voters who vote for me in elections under any circumstances. I have to do something for them,'' said Cho.
Cho said, ``Over the past two decades, I have provided about 400 children breadwinners with tuition for their middle and high school years. I had directly offered them scholarship funds until eight years ago.''
The election watchdog included politicians' donation of scholarships into illegal campaign activities around that time. Following the measure, Cho established a scholarship fund, dubbed the Bupyeong Scholarship Program, through donating two billion won (approximately $1.5 million) in 2002.
``Initially, I was motivated to donate my money to children breadwinners after knowing that underprivileged children are more prone to become involved in juvenile delinquency. I wanted to help them so that they are not victimized by poverty,'' he said.
Shortly after the creation of the scholarship program, his staff sent a memorandum to principals of 44 high schools located in Incheon requesting them to recommend one student who could represent their school.
The ideal student should be a child breadwinner having demonstrated high academic performances.
After receiving the list of 44 scholarship recipient candidates, Cho and his staff handpicked 24 students, all of whom were awarded full-covered scholarships during their university years.
``We've seen progress over the years. Having passed the Korean bar exam, two recipients are now attending the Judicial Research & Training Institute. I was also told that another two students passed the first and second rounds of the bar exam, but failed to become legal professionals this year. Nevertheless, it is still rewarding,'' he said.
In addition to scholarships, Cho has been a supporter of the traditional wrestling sport of ssireum.
Previously, he served as a president of the Korea Ssireum Association.
``Back in late 1970s, one of my acquaintances asked me to help the Ssireum team of Bupyeong High School. So I fundraised money from wealthy businesspeople living in the town and donated my money as well for the building of a gym for the team,'' he said.
Asked about his impression of the 18th legislature which he rejoined eight years after he lost the 2000 elections, Cho said it was very regrettable to see that lawmakers were unable to make the most of the positive law-making environment.
``I feel that a distinctive change has come in the lawmaking environment, compared with that of eight years ago. The National Assembly fully sponsors seminars and forums, meaning legislators are working under a very supportive environment,'' he observed.
Despite this, Cho noted that inter-party relations were worse than before, and he especially regretted seeing the 18th legislature play a role in drawing international shame for acts of violence.