Court Dismisses Recusal Request for Jo Guk and Jeong Gyeongshim Trial Panel Filed by Prosecution

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution's request to disqualify the judges in the trial concerning former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his spouse's 'child admission fraud' charges, following the court's decision to exclude the Dongyang University lounge PC as evidence, was rejected.

On the 17th, the Criminal Division 25-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Kwon Seongsu, Park Jeongje, and Park Sarang) dismissed the prosecution's request to disqualify the judges.

Previously, the first trial court for former Minister Cho, Criminal Division 21-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Ma Seongyeong, Kim Sangyeon, and Jang Yongbeom), stated on December 24 last year during the trial session that it could not recognize the evidentiary value of the PC because the prosecution conducted a seizure without guaranteeing former Professor Jeong's right to participate.

The basis for this was a ruling by the Supreme Court's Grand Bench in November last year. At that time, the Supreme Court Grand Bench ruled in a case where a victim of illegal filming possessed two mobile phones of the perpetrator and submitted them to the police, stating that "the seizure of voluntarily submitted items without guaranteeing the participation of the parties is illegal," and did not recognize their evidentiary value.

Subsequently, on the 14th of last month, the prosecution filed a request to disqualify the judges, claiming that "the court is making a biased conclusion against the defendant and proceeding with the trial based on it." Meanwhile, on the 27th of the same month, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling recognizing the evidentiary value of the instructor lounge PC and confirmed a four-year prison sentence for former Professor Jeong.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Division 21, which is handling the case of former Minister Cho and his spouse, saw a change in presiding judges due to regular judicial personnel reshuffling. The original presiding judge, Chief Judge Kim Sangyeon (age 50, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 29), took a leave of absence, and Chief Judge Kim Jeonggon (age 48, class 31) took over the position.

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