Yoon Seok-yeol's Mother-in-law Appears as Witness in 'Balance Certificate Forgery' Trial

On the Same Day, Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol Selected as Presidential Candidate

Yoon Seok-yeol's mother-in-law, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, who is accused of illegally establishing a nursing home, is attending a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 26th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Choi Mo (74), the mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, appeared as a witness on the 5th in the trial related to the 'balance certificate forgery' case in which she was involved.

The Criminal Division 13 of Uijeongbu District Court (Presiding Judge Jung Sung-kyun) held the 7th hearing for Ahn Mo (58), a former business partner of Choi and indicted for forging balance certificates together with Choi, on the afternoon of the same day at Courtroom No. 1 of Uijeongbu District Court.

Ahn is accused of forging and using four bank balance certificates during the real estate purchase process with Choi, registering real estate under a borrowed name, and also using one forged balance certificate alone to borrow money personally.

Choi admitted to forging the bank balance certificates but claimed, "Ahn asked me to do it," while Ahn said, "Choi approached me first and led the crime," resulting in a dispute between them in court.

On this day, Choi stated, "The balance certificates were only shown to KAMCO (Korea Asset Management Corporation) to obtain real estate information," and added, "I was deceived by Ahn, who lied about having worked at KAMCO and then quitting."

Ahn’s defense attorney mentioned Choi’s prior conviction for perjury and questioned her about her relationship with Kim Mo (44), who is also on trial with her.

In response, Choi said, "(Kim) is not someone who gives orders but can be said to be someone who makes requests."

For most of the questioning, Choi said, "I do not remember the specific details," and "I proceeded trusting Ahn."

Choi was also indicted for illegally establishing a nursing hospital and fraudulent receipt of nursing benefits, for which she was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial, and the appeal trial is currently underway.

Choi, who was detained in court due to this case but released on bail on September 9, recently faced controversy for violating bail conditions, leading the prosecution to file a request to revoke her bail. She is also under investigation by the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for allegations of extorting management rights of the memorial park in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.

Meanwhile, Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General and son-in-law of Choi, was elected as the 20th presidential candidate of the People Power Party by winning first place with a final vote rate of 47.85% in the main primary held at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu on the same day.

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