"Pretending to Drink Soju While Enjoying Wine?"... Cho Kuk Refutes Allegations Over Drinking Photo, Says "I Drank Both"

Photo With Actor Lee Kwanhoon Sparks Controversy
Cho Kuk: "There Were Four of Us, Each Drank What They Liked"
Expresses Anger at "Constant Scrutiny of My Every Move"

Former leader of the National Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, directly refuted the "soju photo" controversy that arose over a picture of a drinking gathering with actor Lee Kwanhoon.

Former leader of the National Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, sparked controversy after posting a photo of a drinking gathering with actor Lee Kwanhoon. Facebook

On the 26th, Cho wrote on his social networking service (SNS) account, "DongA Ilbo and Weekly Chosun have published another bizarre article," adding, "They are claiming that actor Lee Kwanhoon and I only drank wine, but posed for a photo as if we were drinking soju. It is clear that the intention behind the article is to cast a negative label on me."

Cho stated that there were four people present at the gathering that day. After refreshing themselves with draft beer, each person drank either soju or the Spanish white wine brought by Lee, according to their preference, and Cho explained that he drank both.

He emphasized, "If you look at the photo, you will see empty draft beer glasses, soju bottles, soju glasses, wine bottles, and wine glasses," adding, "As a wine enthusiast, I have no reason to hide that I drank wine." He went on, "Even in this sweltering heat, I wish the reporters, who pay close attention to my every move and are eager to nitpick, continued success with their writing," and added, "Looking at these people, being a reporter seems like a very easy job."

On the 24th, Cho posted a picture from the meeting with Lee, writing, "Had a drink with actor Lee Kwanhoon, who visited Pyeongtaek to support the by-election campaign." The photo showed the two clinking soju glasses, along with a wine bottle and wine glasses. The soju bottle placed in front of them was capped. Some media outlets raised the suspicion that "while Cho actually drank wine, he deliberately included soju in the photo," to which he has now responded directly.

The meeting captured in the photo is known to have stemmed from their acquaintance during the National Assembly by-election held in June. At that time, Lee visited Pyeongtaek to support Cho, who was running as a candidate in the by-election, which was held alongside the local elections in Gyeonggi Province. Cho was defeated in the election and, the following day, resigned from the party leadership, taking responsibility for the results.

On August 15 last year, on the day he was released on parole after receiving a special Liberation Day pardon, Cho shared a video captioned "family dinner" featuring a simmering soybean paste stew on SNS. It was later revealed that the stew was a dessert menu item at a high-end Korean beef restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul, prompting some in political circles to criticize that Cho was intentionally highlighting only the frugal side of his image.

At the time, Cho explained on a YouTube broadcast, "It was not easy to eat meat while in prison," and "on my first day out, my son-in-law made a reservation at a barbecue restaurant and, using his own money, treated me to a lot of meat." He responded to the criticism by saying phrases such as "bizarre slander" and "a pig sees only other pigs," expressing how absurd he found the situation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.