Younger Brother of Cho Kuk Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison... "I Deeply Reflect and Will Accept Punishment Willingly" (Comprehensive)

Cho Mo (52), the younger brother of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who is under suspicion of recruitment corruption and sham litigation at Woongdong Academy, a school foundation operated by the family of former Minister Cho Kuk, is entering the courtroom to attend the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 31st. 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’s case involving violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust) held before the 21st Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Miri), the prosecution asked the court to sentence him to six years in prison and impose a fine of 147 million won.

The prosecution stated, "The defendant’s family seized 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 even turned the status of teachers into something that could be bought and sold."

They continued, "The defendant was the mastermind and played a leading role in the crimes but has not shown remorse and instead shifts the blame," emphasizing, "After the crimes, he attempted to destroy evidence and helped accomplices escape, making a heavy sentence inevitable."

Before the final arguments, Cho’s defense attorney criticized the prosecution’s investigation. The attorney pointed out, "The investigation was not triggered by complaints or accusations based on the defendant’s wrongdoing but was politically motivated," and "Because his older brother is former Minister Cho Kuk, the defendant, who is the only family member running the business, was subjected to overwhelming investigation."

He added, "The prosecution conducted multiple raids and collected materials, resulting in 11,000 pages of records. However, the defendant cannot remember events from 24 years ago and has no records," explaining, "The evidence was so widely dispersed that the defendant was in a position where he could not submit or collect any favorable evidence."

In his final argument, the defense attorney said, "We hope the court will carefully consider the fact that the prosecution’s evidence amounts to 11,000 pages while the defense has none," and added, "Regardless of the judgment, the defendant is prepared to accept the consequences for a considerable period calmly," concluding, "We ask for a wise decision and an appropriate sentence."

In his prepared final statement, Cho said, "My father told me there was an outstanding payment for the construction of new teachers’ quarters at Woongdong Academy and asked me to take the lawsuit documents, so I just accepted them," adding, "I did not know whether they were true or not, and it was my fault for not checking. I deeply reflect on this."

Regarding the recruitment corruption charges, he said, "I deeply regret and repent for accepting illicit money, tarnishing the school’s honor, and causing social controversy," and "I will accept legal punishment willingly." However, he denied the charges of evidence destruction and aiding a fugitive, stating, "Those allegations are absolutely untrue."

Cho was brought to trial on charges of causing a total damage of about 11.5 billion won to Woongdong Academy, operated by the family of former Minister Cho Kuk, by filing false lawsuits claiming construction payments. He was also indicted for receiving 180 million won in bribes under the pretext of recruiting teachers at Woongdong Academy from 2016 to 2017 and instructing two accomplices to destroy evidence.

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