Description: A Record of Pain and Truth, Told in Cho Kuk's Own Voice "Cho Kuk's Time" chronicles the chain of events that unfolded after Cho Kuk was nominated as Minister of Justice on August 9, 2019, recording his honest thoughts and feelings throughout. As a progressive intellectual who had long dreamed of prosecutorial reform, he candidly shares the hardships he faced while trying to realize that vision as a public official. The book is filled with previously untold stories — his relationship with President Moon Jae-in, his path to the Blue House as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, and the process leading up to his acceptance of the Justice Minister position. It vividly captures the tense debates over whether he should run for office or accept a cabinet post, as well as events up to the present day. Throughout the book are stories that read like small miracles, born from the countless individual messages of support sent by ordinary citizens. It stands as both a minimal defense and a historical record against the flood of false and exaggerated media reports and the organizational self-interest of a prosecution service protecting its own. Ultimately, it speaks to what true justice means, and to the tasks and hopes that remain for Korean democracy. Chapter 1: The Thorny Path of Trial Sharing President Moon Jae-in's vision for prosecutorial reform, Cho Kuk is nominated as Minister of Justice. Following a National Assembly press briefing and a confirmation hearing, his spouse is indicted amid deeply divided public opinion. Cho Kuk explains why and with what mindset he decided to accept the ministerial post. "If I had resigned voluntarily, or if my nomination had been withdrawn, would the conservative opposition and the media have supported prosecutorial reform? Would the prosecution have accepted the passage of reform legislation? History does not allow for hypotheticals." (pp. 37-38) Chapter 2: The Allegations Surrounding Me Cho Kuk addresses in full the eight allegations surrounding him and his family — private equity fund investments, sham divorce/sham transactions/false address registration, his daughter's scholarship, Woongdong School Foundation, involvement in the Burning Sun scandal, loans from Sangsangin Savings Bank, thesis plagiarism, and his children's high school internship and activity certificates. He also details the full story behind former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's public declaration that Cho Kuk was unfit for office — made even before the raids had secured any private-fund-related evidence. "The prosecution must have known, after the raids, that I had no involvement with the private equity fund. Yet instead of ending the investigation, they expanded it into an all-out dragnet targeting me and my entire family. It was the opening of a 'family-destroying calamity.'" (pp. 55-56) Chapter 3: An Uncontrolled Monster Cho Kuk describes the prosecution as "a dark lord wielding the absolute ring of investigative and indictment power." He goes on to explain in detail the prosecution's immense authority and its problems, underscoring the need for reform. Each example reads like a scene from a crime film. He reviews the reform achievements made so far — including the adjustment of police-prosecution investigative powers and the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials — and discusses the path forward. "Prosecutorial investigations into those in power have never maintained political neutrality. Internal corruption, including that of the Prosecutor General, has always been excluded or minimized. The prosecution under Yoon Seok-youl was no exception." (p. 147) Chapter 4: The Targeted Hunt by Prosecutors and Media In its search for wrongdoing by former Minister Cho Kuk, the prosecution raided over 100 locations — an unprecedented, exhaustive investigation conducted in a short period. False and exaggerated reports poured out like a storm, and within the cartel-like alliance of prosecutors, media, and the conservative opposition, a witch hunt was completed, branding him a corrupt power figure and an immoral progressive politician. The process by which a family was driven to ruin is vividly reconstructed from the victim's perspective. Was the sole reason the prosecution, media, and opposition acted this way simply because Cho Kuk had become a symbol of reform? "It wasn't an investigation — it was a hunt. It felt as though dozens of blades were being thrust into me. It was an agonizing pain to watch, with my own eyes open, as my family's flesh and bone were cut, severed, and left bleeding." (p. 159) Chapter 5: The Stolen Time of the National Assembly and a Minister Used as Kindling Cho Kuk held a press briefing in defiance of the conservative opposition's attempts to block his confirmation hearing, and sincerely apologized to the public. Though not widely known, the book also covers the remarkable achievements made during his brief 36 days in office. He was not merely 'kindling' for a larger fire. Even so, the book vividly reveals the feelings behind his decision — and the inevitability of that decision — to resign. "Reform that cannot be reversed must ultimately come through institutionalization, institutionalization, institutionalization. I gave everything I had to take even one step forward...