Hwang Kyo-ik: "The Cho Kuk family wears a crown and carries a cross... walking the path of Jesus"

"Prosecutorial Reform, a Path That Would Not Have Been Taken If I Had Said I Would Not Become Minister of Justice"

Food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Pro-government food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik evaluated the first trial verdict of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University as "former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk is walking the path of Jesus." By comparing former Minister Cho to Jesus, it is interpreted that he pointed out that Cho's family, including Professor Jeong, is being unfairly persecuted.

On that day, Hwang wrote on his Facebook, "At the personnel hearing, they pressured Cho to resign, and at the climax, when the prosecution indicted him, I thought of Jesus," adding, "They are killing Cho. Cho could not have been unaware of his death. He is walking the path of death with dignity."

He continued, "Cho and his family are walking the path of Golgotha. A crown of thorns was placed on him, and he bore the cross," lamenting, "If he had said he would not reform the prosecution or would not become Minister of Justice, he would not have walked this path."

He added, "It is the path of Jesus. Jesus is walking with him."

Jung Kyung-shim, wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who has been indicted on charges including admission fraud involving her children and suspicions of private equity fund investments, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held on the afternoon of the 23rd at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, Hwang indirectly expressed dissatisfaction with the first trial court's verdict by quoting a post by Lee Su-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who argued that "the four-year prison sentence for Professor Jeong is an excessive judgment."

In the quoted post, Representative Lee pointed out, "Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim was sentenced to a heavy punishment of four years in prison. It feels chilling," adding, "Unprecedented separate investigations and broad sweeping investigations were conducted against former Minister Cho and Professor Jeong. It was a total offensive by the prosecution."

She further criticized, "Even if 'forgery of the certificate of commendation' and others are recognized as guilty, it seems that one year in prison would be sufficient, so this is an unfair sentencing," and pointed out, "The same judge sentenced a person who forged a graduation certificate to work as a private academy instructor to four months in prison with a two-year probation in 2008."

Representative Lee emphasized, "The judiciary is facing another crisis. The judiciary must show a willingness to treat defendants without prejudice with a warm heart and deep understanding of humans and society," and "I hope a normal and reasonable judgment will come out in the appeal trial."

Meanwhile, Professor Jeong, who was indicted on a total of 15 charges including allegations of private equity fund investment related to her children's admission fraud, was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 500 million won in the first trial on the 23rd, and was taken into custody in court. The court also imposed a fine of 140 million won on Professor Jeong.

The court recognized all charges related to Professor Jeong's admission fraud. The court explained, "All certificates, including the experiential activities at Dankook University Medical Science Research Institute, are false," and "The defendant actively participated in submitting self-introduction letters and certificates of commendation to medical graduate schools, and all charges related to admission fraud are guilty."

Some charges related to private equity fund investment allegations and evidence destruction were judged as not guilty.

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