DPK candidate withdraws candidacy amid criticism of career as defense lawyer for sexual offenders
Cho Soo-jin, left, a candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) for a Gangbuk district in northern Seoul, poses for photo with DPK leader Lee Jae-myung, center, at a launching ceremony for the DPK's Seoul division of the election campaign committee, at the National Assembly, March 20. Yonhap
A Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate withdrew her bid for next month's parliamentary elections after criticism mounted over her career records as a defense lawyer representing sexual offenders.
Cho Soo-jin made the announcement in a Facebook post just past midnight Thursday, three days after she won the party ticket to the Gangbuk-B district in northern Seoul in a primary against two-term lawmaker Rep. Park Yong-jin.
"As a lawyer, I always did my best for my clients," she said. "I wanted to do all that I could with the same attitude, for the Gangbuk residents and the people, but I guess my resolve was not enough to meet the expectations of the people."
Thanking the DPK members for giving her the support, Cho asked the party to put all its focus on bringing victory to the party in the elections.
Cho came under scrutiny after records showed that she employed aggressive arguments in her defense during sexual assault trials that critics say were tantamount to committing secondary victimization, or further victim-blaming by justice authorities.
A feminist group revealed that Cho wrote in her blog about how a woman in many cases may have wanted to engage in the sexual activity even after she refused, among other advice she gave to clients on how to circumvent or take advantage of the legal system.
The group urged Cho to resign, accusing her of representing the sexual offenders in the wrong way by introducing the false belief about sexual victims from the perpetrator's point of view.
Cho's withdrawal leaves the DPK having to pick a new candidate by the end of Friday, the deadline for candidate registration.
It deals another blow to the main opposition party that has already been mired in an intense factional strife over candidate nominations for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Cho only became the candidate for the Gangbuk constituency after the DPK canceled the nomination of Chung Bong-ju, a former DPK lawmaker, for the same district over his past remarks ridiculing Korean soldiers who were permanently wounded following a 2015 bloody land mine explosion.
Both Cho and Chung were considered to be aligned with DPK leader Lee Jae-myung, as opposed to Park, who is considered to belong to the non-Lee faction.
Lee accepted Cho's resignation, saying that he respects her decision to not be an obstacle for the party, according to his spokesperson Kang Min-seok.
Later in the day, the DP nominated Han Min-soo, the party's spokesperson, to replace Cho as the candidate for Seoul's Gangbuk-B district. (Yonhap)