Jung Kyung-shim's Side: "The First Trial Verdict Shows Typical Confirmation Bias... Difficult to Understand"

"Biased Case Worthy of Textbook Inclusion" Criticism
Prosecutors: "Turning Others into Ex-Convicts and Showing No Remorse"

Professor Jeong Kyung-shim, Dongyang University / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo and Daehyun Kim] Professor Jeong Gyeongshim of Dongyang University, who was indicted on charges of admission bribery for her children and illegal investment in private equity funds and sentenced to prison in the first trial, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the verdict.

At the first preparatory hearing of the appeal trial held on the 15th before the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1-2 (Presiding Judge Eom Sangpil), Jeong's defense attorney said, "The first trial verdict is a typical case of confirmation bias," adding, "It is a case that could be included in textbooks." He claimed that the first trial court made a prejudgment and judged guilt or innocence regarding the charges.

The defense attorney criticized the verdict by explaining with an example of a convenience store robbery case. During this, the prosecution burst into laughter as if incredulous, but the defense attorney steadfastly continued the analogy. He said, "When a convenience store robbery occurs, a person similar to the defendant appearing on CCTV does not automatically lead to a guilty verdict," and added, "In this case, there was also evidence that the defendant was elsewhere at the same time, yet guilt was recognized."

The defense attorney also called the guilty verdict on some charges related to evidence tampering in the first trial a "biased judgment." He stated, "The act of instructing evidence tampering occurred during the response to the confirmation hearing of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, and the claim that Coringk PE executives committed massive evidence tampering is a retrospective evaluation," adding, "The defendant's actions were very simple, and the guilty verdict based on this is the core issue of the appeal."

Regarding the private equity fund-related charges, the defense attorney pointed out illegal investigations by the prosecution. He said, "During the investigation, when no problems were found with the private equity fund investment itself, the prosecution stopped and indicted on charges of violating the Financial Real Name Act and using undisclosed information." The defense also said, "The prosecution obtained a warrant for specific charges and then investigated and prosecuted using all the information uncovered. It is difficult to understand that this is allowed in court at this point, several hundred years after the modernization of constitutionalism and the constitution, and this needs to be corrected."

Attorney Kim Chil-jun, the defense lawyer of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, who was sentenced to prison and detained in the first trial on charges related to admission fraud for children and private equity funds, is attending the first appeal trial held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, the prosecution stated the grounds for appeal, requesting a re-evaluation of the charges acquitted in the first trial. Previously, the first trial court acquitted four charges related to evidence tampering and private equity funds out of the 15 charges applied to Professor Jeong by the prosecution. The prosecution also requested the court to consider that "the defendant is concealing the substantive truth, using her position to ruin innocent people by turning them into criminals, and shows no remorse."

Both sides expressed their intention to contest all charges with "complete guilt" and "complete innocence," similar to the first trial. The court said, "It seems both sides are contesting everything," and "We will maintain the first trial's claims as they are." The court also decided to hold a second preparatory hearing on the 29th to decide on the acceptance of witnesses and evidence.

Professor Jeong did not appear in court that day. The preparatory hearing is a procedure before the formal trial where the court listens to the prosecution and defense's plans for evidence and selects necessary evidence and witnesses, so the defendant is not required to attend. Professor Jeong was sentenced to four years in prison and detained in court during the first trial.

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