"Minister Cho Kuk, Stay Strong"… Kim Nam-guk Says "I Can't Sleep" Over Jung Kyung-shim's 4-Year Prison Sentence

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who is suspected of admission corruption involving his children, is speaking before attending the continuation of the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 23rd of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Namguk Kim, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned, "Can the judiciary truly be called the 'last bastion' that protects democracy and human rights in our society?" after Jeong Gyeong-sim, the spouse of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and a professor at Dongyang University, was sentenced to four years in prison in the appellate court, the same as in the first trial.

On the 12th, Kim posted on his Facebook, "It's 3 a.m., 4 a.m., 5 a.m., and even though everything is done, I can't sleep," expressing his feelings.

He stated, "The prosecution's excessive investigation, targeted investigation, and sweeping investigation, and in some parts, it even seems like they fabricated things. These problems seem to be visible only to the public," adding, "The fortunate thing is that history never flows according to the calculations of arrogant powers."

He continued, "Citizens took to the streets holding candles and shouted for 'prosecution reform' due to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's 'shoddy political investigation,' and although Yoon Seok-yeol came out into the world aiming to become president, he only revealed his 'empty head' to the whole world," and urged, "I hope there will be a proper and correct judgment in the Supreme Court." He also added, "Stay strong, Minister Cho!"

Jung Kyung-shim, spouse of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges related to school admission fraud and private equity funds, was found guilty of admission fraud and other charges in the appellate court following the first trial and was sentenced to imprisonment.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 11th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1-2 (Presiding Judges Eom Sang-pil, Shim Dam, Lee Seung-ryeon) sentenced Professor Jeong, who was indicted on a total of 15 charges including violation of the Capital Markets Act, to four years in prison, the same as in the first trial. However, unlike the first trial which imposed a fine of 500 million won and a confiscation of about 140 million won, the appellate court reduced the fine to 50 million won and the confiscation to about 10 million won.

The appellate court stated, "She obstructed the admission screening work of an educational institution and seriously damaged our society's trust in the fairness of the admission system," and, as in the first trial, judged all of her daughter Cho Min's so-called '7 major specs' to be false, recognizing all related charges against Professor Jeong (such as obstruction of business) as guilty.

After the sentencing, Kim Chil-jun, the lawyer representing Professor Jeong, said, "The original judgment was not a rational logical development but a verdict full of confirmation bias, so we expected to correct this in the appellate court, but it was repeated," expressing the intention to appeal to the Supreme Court.

On the same day, former Minister Cho Kuk posted on his social media, "It is truly painful as a family," and stated, "We will appeal to the Supreme Court to dispute the evidentiary validity of illegally collected evidence and the legal principles of obstruction of business."

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