Prosecutors Summon Jo Min, Daughter of Jo Guk Couple, as Accomplice in Admission Fraud Investigation

The prosecution summoned Cho Min (32), the daughter and accomplice of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his wife, on charges of admission fraud. The statute of limitations (7 years) for the charges of obstruction of official duties by deception and forgery of documents related to her fraudulent application to the Pusan National University School of Medicine will expire on the 26th of next month.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Trial Division 5 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Mina) summoned Cho Min as a suspect for questioning the day before. This is interpreted as an effort to confirm any changes in her stance on the charges in order to decide whether to indict her before the statute of limitations expires.

A Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office official stated on the 13th, "We understand that (Cho Min) has recently shown some change in her position," and added that they will review various factors such as her attitude of remorse, the intent of the Supreme Court ruling, and the extent of her involvement to decide on indictment. "It is also necessary to confirm the positions of the accomplices, former Minister Cho Kuk and former Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim, regarding the charges," the official said.

The prosecution indicted former Minister Cho Kuk and his wife from September to December 2019 on charges of involvement in their children's admission fraud but did not indict the children despite considering them accomplices to some extent. Former Minister Cho Kuk was sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial in February. He was found guilty of most of the admission fraud charges. Former Professor Jeong, who was sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court last year for admission fraud related to Cho Min, was additionally indicted for admission fraud involving her son and is currently undergoing trial alongside former Minister Cho Kuk, receiving a one-year prison sentence in the first trial.

In the Supreme Court's final ruling on former Professor Jeong, it was acknowledged that Cho Min forged a certificate of commendation from Dongyang University, and all seven major credentials, including her internship at Seoul National University, were judged to be false. Both the Supreme Court and the first trial court of former Minister Cho Kuk recognized Cho Min's "conspiratorial relationship" in the admission fraud process.

Once the prosecution takes action regarding former Minister Cho Kuk's children, the four-year-long investigation into the Cho family will come to an end. The investigation into the Cho family began in August 2019. After former President Moon Jae-in nominated Cho Kuk as Minister of Justice in August of that year, numerous allegations surrounding the Cho family were raised.

Meanwhile, Cho Min recently withdrew lawsuits against the cancellation of her admissions to Korea University and Pusan National University School of Medicine. After the Supreme Court's final ruling on former Professor Jeong, Korea University and Pusan National University School of Medicine canceled her admissions, to which she objected and filed administrative lawsuits. The first trial result against Pusan National University School of Medicine was a loss for Cho Min. The court ruled that the cancellation of admission was justified, considering "the fairness and trust in admissions, the ethical awareness and social responsibility required of doctors, university autonomy, the extent of Cho Min's fraudulent acts, and the actual impact of the fraud on the admission results."

Before the first hearing dates of the appeals against Pusan National University School of Medicine and the first trial against Korea University, Cho Min withdrew all lawsuits, stating, "I want to start over from scratch," and "I will seriously consider my future, where I can contribute to society as a responsible citizen of the Republic of Korea."

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