Cho Kuk Avoids Detention in First Trial, Appeals Begin in 'Admission Fraud and Investigation Cover-up' Case

The appeal trial of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial for charges related to his children's admission fraud and cover-up of an inspection, will begin on the 25th. Although Cho was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial, he was not detained in court and will be tried while out on bail.

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his daughter Cho Min are speaking at the 'A Walk Through Cho Kuk's Legal Classics: Conversation with the Author' held on the afternoon of April 11 at Kumuda Concert Hall in Haeundae-gu, Busan.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At 4 p.m. on the 25th, the Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Woo-su, Kim Jin-ha, Lee In-su) will hold the first preparatory hearing for the appeal trial of former Minister Cho, who was indicted on charges including bribery and abuse of authority. Since the preparatory hearing is a procedure to hear the opinions of both the prosecution and defense and to set the plan for evidence presentation, Cho, who is not obligated to appear, does not have to attend the court on that day.

From late 2019 to early 2020, the prosecution indicted former Minister Cho on a total of 12 charges related to his children's admission fraud (obstruction of business, forgery and use of false official documents, forgery of private documents, etc.) and his daughter's fraudulent receipt of scholarships (bribery), among others. There are also charges of violating the Public Official Ethics Act for failing to submit a blank trust of assets and falsely reporting assets when he was appointed Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, and charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights for covering up the inspection of former Busan Deputy Mayor Yoo Jae-soo during his tenure as Senior Secretary.

The prosecution's investigation into former Minister Cho intensified after former President Moon Jae-in nominated him as Minister of Justice in August 2019. Numerous allegations surrounding Cho's family were raised, and at the time, the ruling party (Democratic Party of Korea) defended Cho, claiming the prosecution was resisting the government's prosecution reform. Demonstrations condemning the prosecution were held in Seocho-dong, Seoul, while rallies demanding Cho's resignation were held in Gwanghwamun.

Earlier this year, the first trial sentenced Cho to two years in prison, stating, "The defendant ignores the wrongdoing by making claims contrary to objective evidence and does not show genuine remorse." A fine of 6 million won was also ordered. Most charges related to children's admission fraud and the cover-up of the inspection of former Deputy Mayor Yoo were found guilty, but charges of violating the Public Official Ethics Act and most charges related to the private equity fund were acquitted due to lack of evidence that Cho knew about the ownership of stocks under a borrowed name.

The first trial court pointed out that "severe social division and exhausting confrontation continued due to the allegations surrounding the defendant's family." It also stated, "The crime was committed based on the mistaken belief that any irregularity is acceptable as long as it results in a favorable outcome for the daughter's university admission," and "actual admission screening work at each educational institution was obstructed, and the public's trust in the fairness of the admission system was seriously damaged."

Regarding the cover-up of the inspection of former Deputy Mayor Yoo, the court judged that "the defendant ignored the special inspection team's request to block improper political requests and pressure, and instead abused his authority according to the requests, stopping an inspection that was proceeding normally."

However, the court did not immediately detain Cho in court, stating, "Considering social ties, there is no risk of flight."

At the time, immediately after the sentencing, Cho stated, "I humbly accept the first trial verdict and will sincerely contest the guilty parts in the appeal trial."

Since most of the charges related to Cho's children's admission fraud were found guilty in the first trial, Cho's side is expected to focus on challenging the evidentiary validity of the PC from the lecturer's lounge at Dongyang University in the appeal trial.

Cho's defense has argued that the related evidence was illegally collected, but the first trial did not accept this. The materials found on the Dongyang University PC used by former Professor Jung became key evidence in finding him guilty of forging Dongyang University certificates and other charges.

On the other hand, the prosecution is expected to focus on proving the guilt of Cho in the appeal trial regarding the private equity fund charges for which he was acquitted in the first trial.

The first trial judged that it was difficult to see that Cho knew about the stocks held by Professor Jung, but the prosecution must strengthen evidence that Cho knew about the facts and tampered with or concealed evidence in preparation for the investigation.

Meanwhile, former Professor Jung Kyung-shim of Dongyang University, who was tried together with Cho on charges including her son's admission fraud, was sentenced to one year in prison in the first trial. She was separately convicted of her daughter's admission fraud charges and sentenced to four years in prison in January last year, and is currently serving her sentence.

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