Prosecution Demands Replacement of Jo Guk Trial Panel Again

Immediate Appeal Against Rejection of Avoidance Application

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk / Photo by Jang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution immediately filed an interlocutory appeal after the court rejected the request to disqualify the judges in the trial concerning the 'admission fraud involving the children' of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his wife, following the exclusion of the PC from the Dongyang University lounge as evidence.

On the 22nd, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated regarding the court's dismissal of the disqualification request against the first trial judges in the case of former Minister Cho and his wife, "After comprehensively reviewing the reasons for the dismissal, the evidence, legal principles, and the progress of the trial, we determined that it is necessary to have a retrial in a higher court," and thus filed an interlocutory appeal with the Seoul High Court.

On the 17th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-1 (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, Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-1 (Presiding Judges Ma Seongyeong, Kim Sangyeon, and Jang Yongbeom), on December 24 last year, ruled during a hearing that the prosecution's seizure of the PC without guaranteeing Professor Jeong's right to participate could not be recognized as admissible evidence.

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 concerned party is illegal," and thus did not recognize the evidence's admissibility.

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 that." 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 Professor Jeong.

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