Court Again Rejects Prosecutor's Request to Change Trial Panel for Jo Guk Couple's First Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The court has once again dismissed the prosecution's motion to disqualify the first trial panel handling the "admission bribery" charges against former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and former Dongyang University professor Jeong Gyeongshim. The first trial of the case involving the couple has been delayed for nearly three months due to conflicts between the prosecution and the trial panel.

According to the court on the 21st, the Criminal Division 20 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Jeong Seonjae, Kang Hyowon, Kim Gwangnam) dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the disqualification motion.

Earlier, on January 14, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed a motion to disqualify the Criminal Division 21-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Ma Seongyoung, Kim Jeonggon, Jang Yongbeom), stating that "the trial panel is making a biased conclusion against the defendants and conducting the trial based on it."

The main background was the trial panel's decision last December to reject evidence such as the Dongyang University lounge PC, in line with Professor Jeong's claim that "the prosecution illegally seized the evidence, rendering it inadmissible."

This decision was based on a ruling by the Supreme Court's full bench in November of the same year. In a case where a victim of illegal filming submitted the perpetrator's mobile phone to the police, the court ruled that "the seizure of voluntarily submitted items without ensuring the participation of the parties is illegal," and thus did not recognize the evidence's admissibility.

However, earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling recognizing the evidentiary value of the Dongyang University PC and confirmed a four-year prison sentence for Professor Jeong, who was separately indicted on charges including obstruction of business and violations of the Capital Markets Act.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office also cited other reasons for the disqualification motion, including the trial panel's failure to provide the prosecution with an opportunity to present its opinion, the unlawful and unfair postponement of decisions on objections related to trial procedures without sufficient explanation, and the trial panel's direction not to present evidence that was not accepted by witnesses, which infringed on the prosecution's right to cross-examination.

However, the first trial of the disqualification motion case dismissed the motion, stating that "there is no objective circumstance indicating a concern for an unfair trial regarding the admissibility of evidence." The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office immediately appealed, arguing that a higher court should review the matter again, but the appellate panel also rejected it, so the trial of former Minister Cho and others will continue with the existing trial panel.

According to the Criminal Procedure Act, if there is concern that a judge may conduct an unfair trial, a motion to replace the trial panel can be filed. The court must hold a separate trial on the disqualification motion itself, and the disqualification motion case is heard by a separate panel. If dismissed, an immediate appeal can be filed within seven days to seek a ruling from a higher court. If the prosecution disagrees with this dismissal again, the Supreme Court's final judgment can be sought.

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