Court Imposes Fine on Jeong Gyeong-shim for Absence at Jo Beom-dong Trial

Jung Kyung-shim, wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and a professor at Dongyang University, is leaving the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after completing the pre-arrest detention hearing on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Sung-pil] The court handling the case of Cho Beom-dong, the fifth cousin of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, decided on the 20th to impose a fine on Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University for failing to appear as a witness.

The Criminal Division 24 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge So Byeong-seok) announced this during the 13th hearing on charges against Cho, including violations of the Capital Markets Act, embezzlement, and breach of trust, when Professor Jeong did not appear.

The court stated, "The prosecution requested Professor Jeong as a witness in this case, and the court recognized the necessity of witness examination and accepted her as a witness, but she failed to appear," adding, "If she fails to appear again at the next hearing, we will consider issuing a warrant for her arrest."

Article 151 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates, "If a witness who has received a summons fails to appear without justifiable reason, the court may order the witness to bear the litigation costs caused by the absence and impose a fine of up to 5 million won."

It has not yet been confirmed how much the court fined Professor Jeong on this day. The court rescheduled the next witness examination to the 27th.

The court also stated that after receiving and reviewing the prosecution’s list of examination topics for Professor Jeong, "We found examination topics related to parts of the case in which Cho was not indicted as an accomplice," and added, "Some parts of the examination will be restricted."

Earlier, Professor Jeong’s side, who was selected as a witness in Cho’s case, submitted a letter explaining her absence to the court on the 13th.

The letter reportedly stated that "the prosecutor’s examination is no different from the defendant’s examination, and since the testimony given as a witness is expected to be submitted as evidence in her own trial, it is difficult to appear."

Professor Jeong is accused as an accomplice in the allegations of illegal private equity fund investment and evidence tampering faced by Cho.

In addition to these charges, Professor Jeong is also indicted for forging Dongyang University certificates and involvement in her children’s admission fraud, and is currently on trial under the Criminal Division 25-2 of this court (Presiding Judge Im Jeong-yeop).

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