Prosecution Seeks 6-Year Prison Sentence for Cho Kuk's Brother... "Severe Punishment Inevitable" (2nd Report)

Cho Mo (52), the younger brother of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who is under suspicion of recruitment corruption and sham litigation involving the school foundation Ungdonghakwon operated by the family of former Minister Cho Kuk, is entering the courtroom to attend the warrant hearing held on the 31st at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The prosecution has requested a six-year prison sentence for Cho Kwon (53), the younger brother of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges including recruitment corruption at Woongdong Academy and sham lawsuits.

On the 22nd, at the sentencing hearing for Cho held by the 21st Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Miri), the prosecution requested the court to sentence him to six years in prison and impose a fine of 147 million won for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust) and other charges.

The prosecution stated, "The defendant's family took control of Woongdong Academy and privatized it, deceiving the court with fabricated evidence to create false claims worth 10 billion won, which they used as capital for their business," adding, "They also turned the status of teachers into commodities to be bought and sold."

They continued, "Although the defendant was the mastermind and played a leading role in the crime, he shows no remorse and shifts the blame," emphasizing, "After the crime, he attempted to destroy evidence and helped accomplices escape, making a heavy sentence inevitable."

Cho was prosecuted for causing a total damage of approximately 11.5 billion won to Woongdong Academy by filing a false lawsuit claiming construction payments against the academy operated by the Cho family.

He was also indicted on charges of receiving 180 million won in bribes under the pretext of recruiting teachers at Woongdong Academy between 2016 and 2017 and instructing two accomplices to destroy evidence.

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