Former Busan Medical Center Director Who Awarded Cho Min Scholarship Says "Issue Caused by Professors' Competition"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who has been indicted on charges of entrance exam fraud and covering up an inspection, is attending a trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The controversy over the scholarship awarded to Cho Min, daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, at the Busan National University Medical School was due to competition among professors, the side of former Director Noh Hwan-jung argued in court.

On the 14th, Noh's attorney made this claim during the trial renewal procedure of the bribery, bribery offering, and violation of the Anti-Graft Act charges against former Minister Cho and former Director Noh, held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-1 (Presiding Judges Ma Seong-young, Kim Jeong-gon, Jang Yong-beom).

The defense for former Director Noh stated, "When Cho Min's father was a professor at Seoul National University Law School, there was no involvement regardless of whether the scholarship was given ten or twenty times, but after he became the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, competitors might have thought '(Former Director Noh) has grabbed the lifeline.'

The defense also claimed that the issue regarding Cho Min was first raised at the hospital scholarship committee in the second semester of 2017, after former Minister Cho was appointed as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House. They emphasized that this issue was raised "to check and balance within the competitive structure among professors."

The prosecution views the scholarships awarded to Cho Min after former Minister Cho took office as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs in May 2017 as bribes and indicted him on charges of bribery and violation of the Kim Young-ran Act.

The prosecution believes that former Director Noh was aware that former Minister Cho, who was then Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, could exert influence over the operation of Yangsan Busan National University Hospital and appointments to high-ranking positions such as the director of Busan National University Hospital, and thus provided the scholarship with the intent of bribery.

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