Jung Kyung-shim's Brother Denies Allegations of Nominee Property in Trial: "My Sister Distinguishes Between Public and Private Matters"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The younger brother of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University appeared as a witness in court and denied most of the allegations regarding various nominee properties related to private equity fund investments.

Jeong's younger brother, Mr. Jeong, appeared as a witness for the defense in the continuation trial held on the 10th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judges Im Jeong-yeop, Kwon Seong-su, Kim Seon-hee).

He stated that the 500 million KRW given to Cho Beom-dong, the fifth cousin nephew of former Minister Cho Kuk, in 2015 and the 500 million KRW given in 2017 were loans, not investments.

Regarding the additional 500 million KRW invested in 2017 in Kolink Private Equity (Kolink PE), he claimed that he borrowed 300 million KRW of that amount from Professor Jeong and paid interest based on a contract. He explained that the contract was drawn up at Professor Jeong's suggestion to clarify matters after experiencing a property dispute with her biological older brother.

He also denied allegations that he provided various securities accounts for Professor Jeong to use under nominee names. He stated that the money flowing through those accounts between him and Professor Jeong was either borrowed money or interest, and that he was the one who actually managed the accounts.

Regarding the allegation that Professor Jeong acquired 120,000 shares of WFM (Double U FM) stock worth 600 million KRW in her name in 2018, Mr. Jeong claimed that the acquisition was made by combining his own 250 million KRW with 350 million KRW borrowed from Professor Jeong.

As for the discovery of 70,000 physical stock certificates at Professor Jeong's residence, he explained, "Since the stock price had dropped, I felt burdened and returned them as a form of repayment."

During cross-examination, the prosecution mentioned that Professor Jeong had noted on her cellphone the amounts owed by her brother down to the last 1,000 KRW. They also pointed out that she sent a message to Mr. Jeong calling the balance transferred to his suspected nominee securities account "my calculation" and said, "Let's settle the details later."

The prosecution pressed, saying, "Although the stocks are traded under the witness's name, the text messages can be interpreted as the money actually belonging to Professor Jeong," and added, "It appears that the stocks were purchased under the witness's name rather than the money being a loan as the witness claims."

Mr. Jeong insisted, "My sister distinguishes between personal and official matters. She may have had her own calculations, but I did borrow the money."

In response, the court expressed doubt, saying, "Earlier, you said Professor Jeong helped a lot and did not accept what you gave her, right? But looking at Professor Jeong's notes, contrary to that, she wrote down in great detail the money you were supposed to give."

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