Cho Kuk Requests Return of Seized Hard Disk, Files Provisional Return Application with Court

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, accused of 'child admission corruption,' has reportedly filed a motion with the court to return items seized during a past search.

According to the legal community on the 10th, former Minister Cho filed a motion for the return of seized items on the 13th of last month with the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-1 (Presiding Judges Ma Seongyoung, Kim Sangyeon, Jang Yongbeom). The items requested for return are known to be computer hard drives seized by prosecutors from the drawer of former Minister Cho's office at Seoul National University.

A motion for return of seized items (gahanbu) refers to a system where seized items are returned on the condition that they are necessary for investigation or must be submitted as evidence to the court. Since it is a provisional disposition, the effect of the seizure itself does not disappear.

Former Minister Cho was first indicted in December 2019 on charges related to admission corruption involving his wife, former Dongyang University professor Jeong Gyeongsim, and their children. In January of the following year, he was additionally indicted on charges related to allegations of suppressing the investigation into former Busan City Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Yoo Jae-su, and is currently undergoing trial in the first instance.

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