Cho Kuk: "Prosecutors who pressed charges to brand me as a 'bribery criminal'... I am stunned and filled with anger"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges including allegations of covering up an inspection and admission fraud involving his children / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk claimed that he "had no involvement whatsoever in the process of his daughter receiving a scholarship in graduate school" and argued that the prosecution, unable to admit the wrongdoing of their targeted investigation, proceeded with the indictment to brand him as a 'bribery criminal.'

On the afternoon of the 9th, former Minister Cho appeared at the trial regarding allegations of his children's admission fraud held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-1 (Presiding Judge Ma Seongyoung) and spoke to reporters.

Cho read from a prepared statement, saying, "The scholarship (for my daughter) was not an academic scholarship but was given continuously by the advising professor as a form of encouragement because she struggled to adapt during the early stages of admission."

He also asserted, "The advising professor never made any requests to me after awarding the scholarship, and I had no involvement whatsoever in the selection process for the director of Busan Medical Center."

He continued, "The prosecution must have known all of this after their investigation," and criticized, "Since they cannot admit the fault of their targeted investigation, they proceeded with the indictment to brand me as a 'bribery criminal.'"

He added, "It is outrageous," expressing that deep within his heart, anger is rising against such conduct by the prosecution.

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