Candidate for Minister of Welfare Kyoohong Cho on 'False Address Registration' Allegations: "Due to Children's Difficulties in Friendships"

Health and Welfare Minister nominee Cho Kyu-hong is answering questions from reporters as he arrives at the National Pension Service Chungjeongno building in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 8th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Cho Gyu-hong, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, has been accused of moving his residence to a neighboring district during the middle school assignment period for his child, allegedly engaging in false address registration. Cho explained, "It was to assign my child, who was having difficulties with peer relationships, to a different school," and added, "It was not to enter a school advantageous for entrance exams."

In Jae-geun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, claimed on the 15th that there is evidence of false address registration violating the Resident Registration Act after analyzing Cho's nomination hearing request.

According to Rep. In, Cho moved his address on November 17, 2006, from an apartment in Pyeongchon-dong, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, to an apartment in Hogye-dong, Dongan-gu, across the street from his in-laws. About a month later, on December 20, he registered his address back to the original apartment in Pyeongchon-dong.

Rep. In pointed out, "At that time, Cho's daughter was about to enter middle school," and added, "It is difficult to readily understand the movement between two addresses within just over a month before his daughter's middle school admission." The allegation is that Cho moved his address to avoid A Middle School, which his daughter would have attended if the address was in Pyeongchon-dong, and instead enrolled her in B Middle School, assigned to residents of Hogye-dong.

In response, Cho explained through the nomination hearing preparation team, "It was not to enter a school advantageous for entrance exams, but an unavoidable measure from the perspective of raising a child who was having difficulties with peer relationships."

He explained that his child had a very difficult school life due to peer relationships during elementary school, and after much consideration, it was judged better for the child to live at the paternal grandfather's house, where the maternal grandmother who actually cared for the child resides, so the child could attend a different school and live a normal life.

The preparation team added, "Both the middle school the child was likely to attend if they had not moved and the middle school actually attended have good reputations, and since both schools belong to the same school district for high school admission, it was not for the purpose of entering a specific high school."

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