SEOUL ¨C Three years ago, Moon Jae-in was among the masses on the streets of Seoul seeking to oust a president accused of ignoring the people¡¯s will. Now, his own presidency is facing a similar crisis.
Moon was forced to issue a public apology Monday after Cho Kuk, his justice minister and political ally, bowed to a series of mass protests and resigned. The departure represented a stunning setback to Moon, who only five weeks ago had ignored corruption probes swirling around Cho and his family to put him in charge of the country¡¯s justice system.
The demonstrations and investigations have only intensified in the intervening weeks, with Cho¡¯s home raided by prosecutors and lawmakers shaving their heads to protest the appointment. The conservative opposition ¡ª struggling since Moon helped impeach former President Park Geun-hye in 2016 ¡ª has climbed level with the ruling Democratic Party in opinion polls.
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