'Admission Fraud and Private Equity Fund Charges' Jeong Gyeongshim, Second Trial Verdict Today... 4 Years Imprisonment in First Trial

Professor Jung Kyung-shim of Dongyang University, wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges of entrance exam fraud and private equity fund suspicions / Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The appellate trial for Professor Jeong Gyeongshim of Dongyang University, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial and detained in court on charges related to her child's admission corruption and private equity funds, will be held.

According to the court on the 11th, at 10:30 a.m. that day, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1-2 (Chief Judge Eom Sangpil) will conduct the appellate trial sentencing hearing for Professor Jeong, who was indicted on charges including obstruction of business, violation of the Capital Markets Act, and forgery and use of private documents.

Previously, Professor Jeong was prosecuted on charges of forging Dongyang University certificates and falsely issuing internship activity confirmations, which were used in her daughter Cho Min's university and medical school admissions, thereby obstructing the admission processes of each school.

She is also accused of obtaining undisclosed information in advance related to the secondary battery company WFM for profit, opening a nominee account to conceal assets, and falsely registering Cho as a research assistant at Dongyang University to receive subsidies.

In the previous appellate trial closing arguments, the prosecution requested the court to sentence her to 7 years in prison and impose a fine of 900 million won. They also asked for an order to confiscate approximately 164 million won. This is the same sentence as the first trial's prosecution request.

At that time, the prosecution emphasized, "This is a serious crime that damages the values of fairness, trust, and the rule of law in our society, and to reestablish these values, corresponding responsibility must be held." They added, "It is time to end the era of lies and unfairness and restore the era of truth and fairness."

On the other hand, Professor Jeong's defense attorney appealed, saying, "The instructor lounge PC and derivative materials, which are considered illegally obtained evidence by the prosecution, were all recognized as admissible evidence in the original trial," and "There are illegalities such as factual errors and legal misinterpretations, so we ask for the original judgment to be overturned."

In her final statement, Professor Jeong said, "When I think about the hellish time of suffering endured by myself and my entire family, tears well up and my heart aches," and "I sincerely hope that through this trial, my grievances will be revealed and the day I return to normal life will come soon."

The first trial recognized some charges related to the private equity fund operator Kolink PE and admission corruption charges as guilty and sentenced her to 4 years in prison.

First, the court judged that Professor Jeong gained an unfair profit of about 236 million won by obtaining undisclosed information related to WFM, a battery company invested in by Kolink PE.

The so-called "7 major specs" related to Cho's admission documents ? ▲Dongyang University president's certificate of commendation and research confirmation ▲Dongyang University Language Education Center research assistant activity confirmation ▲Dankook University Medical Science Research Institute internship activities and papers ▲Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) internship experience ▲Aqua Palace Hotel and Intercontinental Hotel internship certificates ▲Kongju National University Life Science Research Institute internship certificate ▲Seoul National University Public Interest and Human Rights Law Center internship confirmation ? were all deemed false by the first trial.

Professor Jeong has been detained since the first trial's prison sentence and has been undergoing the appellate trial while in custody.

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