Investigation into the Leak of Cho Kuk's Daughter's School Records Halted After One Year... Leaker Not Found

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police have halted their investigation after one year without identifying the source of the leak of the school records of Cho Mo, the daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk.

According to the police on the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit transferred the case involving accusations of violations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Personal Information Protection Act against former lawmaker Joo Kwang-deok, formerly of the United Future Party (now the People Power Party), to the prosecution earlier this month with a recommendation to suspend the witness investigation. A suspension of witness investigation is a decision to halt the investigation when the whereabouts of witnesses or suspects cannot be confirmed, and the investigation cannot be concluded until the reason is resolved.

The police had been investigating the complaints related to former lawmaker Joo, who, while serving as a sitting member of the National Assembly, disclosed the contents of Cho's school records from Han Young Foreign Language High School on September 1 of last year.

At the time, former lawmaker Joo claimed, "After analyzing the school records of Cho, daughter of former Minister Cho, which were provided by a public interest whistleblower, we identified suspicious circumstances suggesting preferential treatment in the 'Off-campus experiential learning situation' section, indicating an internship." Two days later, he also disclosed Cho's English subject grades from high school based on the school records.

In response, organizations such as the Practical Education Teachers' Association and other teacher groups filed complaints against former lawmaker Joo, stating that "the disclosure of student records by Representative Joo is an illegal act prohibited by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Personal Information Protection Act." Cho's daughter also submitted a complaint.

The police conducted a search and seizure of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's server management department and secured access records to the Education Administration Information System (NEIS). They also conducted an on-site investigation at Han Young Foreign Language High School and summoned faculty members who had viewed the school records for questioning. The police obtained and analyzed former lawmaker Joo's call logs and email records and conducted an investigation of him as a suspect, but were unable to identify who had provided the school records.

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