Defendant Cho Kuk "I will fight tirelessly"... Refuses Jury Trial

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who has been indicted on charges including bribery, is attending the first trial held on the 8th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Minister Cho, accused of charges such as admission fraud involving his children and obstruction of inspection, is appearing in the defendant's seat for the first time about 130 days after the indictment. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The trial of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk has begun. Among several charges, this case concerns the 'cover-up of an inspection.' Upon arriving at the court, former Minister Cho expressed his determination, saying, "It will take a long time, but I will fight without getting tired." However, he refused the 'citizen participation trial,' which he had previously praised as a fundamental aspect of democracy.

On the morning of the 8th, former Minister Cho arrived at the Seoul Central District Court and told the waiting reporters, "I will refute one by one the distorted and exaggerated charges based on facts and legal principles." He also requested the press, "Please do not unilaterally report only the prosecution's allegations. I hope you will faithfully cover the defense counsel's cross-examination content that will unfold in court starting today."

The first trial for former Minister Cho began at 9:57 a.m. in Courtroom 502 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by the 21st Criminal Division (Chief Judge Kim Miri). Former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-cheol arrived first, followed by former Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo, who took his seat after former Minister Cho. Baek and Park embraced, and Baek greeted former Minister Cho with a handshake.

When the judge asked if the address and registered domicile were as stated in the indictment, former Minister Cho replied, "Yes." Regarding the citizen participation trial, he said, "I do not want it." After the identity verification process, former Minister Cho and others sat silently in the defendant's seat for a while. Former Minister Cho stared straight ahead without glancing at Park or Baek, while Baek occasionally looked toward former Minister Cho. After about 15 minutes into the trial, former Minister Cho spoke again when the court asked, "Besides the defense counsel's statement denying the charges, do you have anything else to say?" He answered, "Nothing else." Park and Baek gave the same response.

Former Blue House Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-chul is heading to the courtroom on the morning of the 8th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to attend the first trial related to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's family corruption and allegations of suppressing an investigation. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Throughout the trial, the prosecution and the defense attorneys for former Minister Cho, Park, and Baek engaged in sharp exchanges. The lead prosecutor, Lee Jeong-seop, head of the 6th Criminal Division at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, who investigated the allegations of inspection cover-up, opened the proceedings. Prosecutor Lee stated, "This case involves senior officials in the Office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, including the Senior Secretary, who were notified by influential figures in the current administration to halt inspections on pro-government personnel. They then ordered the Special Inspection Team to stop the inspection." He raised his voice, saying, "Yoo Jae-soo is a key figure in the current government's Financial Services Commission and has close ties with core figures of the administration. Early in the administration, it was decided that his misconduct should not be revealed, so the defendants instructed the Special Inspection Team to suspend the inspection."

After the prosecution's statement, former Minister Cho's defense attorney immediately rebutted, saying, "The prosecution solemnly explained the charges, but the defendant only reported Yoo Jae-soo's misconduct to former Secretaries Park and Baek and was instructed to take corresponding personnel actions." He questioned, "How can the defendant, who was the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the time and exercised final decision-making authority on personnel matters regarding Yoo Jae-soo, be charged with abuse of authority and obstruction of rights?" Regarding the alleged cover-up, the defense argued, "The Special Inspection Team under the Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary's Office does not have compulsory investigative authority but only the power to request investigations from law enforcement agencies. At that time, legally, the Special Inspection Team had nothing more to do, and the inspection was not suspended but concluded."

About 25 minutes into the trial, at around 10:26 a.m., the judge declared the morning session adjourned. Former Minister Cho and others stood and headed toward the exit. The trial will resume at 2 p.m., with former Blue House Special Inspection Team Chief Lee In-geol appearing as a witness.

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