Jokuk and Jeong Gyeongshim: "Admission Fraud Charges, Parents' Negligence... We Reflect on Ourselves"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges of 'children's admission corruption and allegations of inspection cover-up,' attended the first hearing of the second trial held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu on the 17th and gave an interview to the press. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk (58) and his wife expressed remorse, stating, "As parents, we acknowledge our negligence and mistakes" regarding the allegations of admission fraud involving their children, Cho Min (32) and Cho Won (26).

In a statement released to the media on the 23rd, former Minister Cho and former professor Jeong Gyeong-sim (61) said, "Although we have publicly apologized to the nation several times since 2019, we would like to once again express our sincere apologies to the public on this occasion."

The couple emphasized, "Our children have relinquished or returned all degrees and qualifications connected to the admission fraud charges for which they were indicted or convicted, and have withdrawn related lawsuits. Given the legal and social controversies involved, we have decided to discard everything and start anew from scratch as a form of self-reflection."

However, regarding the specific facts and whether there was collusion in the admission fraud allegations, they stated, "We will sincerely clarify in court how the problematic documents were created, issued, and submitted, and the extent of each parent's involvement in this process, and we will take corresponding moral and legal responsibility."

Regarding the reason for issuing the statement, the couple explained, "After our daughter's investigation, the prosecution has demanded through the media that the parents also clarify their position. Although it is unusual for a defendant to express their stance outside the courtroom regarding indictment facts, we respect the prosecution's request for the parents to state their position and thus have done so."

Earlier, on the 17th, during the first appeal trial, former Minister Cho denied the charges, arguing that "as a father engaged in social activities, it was difficult to know every move of his daughter, making it hard to consider him an accomplice in the admission fraud."

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