Supreme Court to Deliver Verdict on June 18 in Choi Kang-wook's Case Regarding Alleged False Internship Certificate for Cho Kuk's Son

Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su, Retiring on the 24th, Issues 'Final Full Bench' Ruling
First and Second Trials Sentenced to 8 Months Imprisonment and 2 Years Probation... Pending at the Supreme Court for 1 Year and 4 Months

The Supreme Court en banc will deliver its verdict on the 18th of this month regarding Representative Choi Kang-wook of the Democratic Party, who was found guilty in the first and second trials of issuing a 'false internship certificate' to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. This will be the last en banc verdict presided over by Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, who is set to retire on the 24th.

Choi Kang-wook, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 13th, the Supreme Court posted on its website that the en banc verdict for Representative Choi's case will be held on the 18th of this month. Previously, on the 10th of last month, the en banc discussed eight cases referred to it, including Representative Choi's case, and ultimately decided to deliver the verdict for only Representative Choi's case on the 18th.

Representative Choi's case has been pending at the Supreme Court for 1 year and 4 months since the appellate court's verdict was issued in May last year. Initially, the case was assigned to the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) in September last year and was under review. However, it was first revealed this June that the case was suddenly referred to the en banc, though the exact timing of the referral was not disclosed. If the panel of four justices cannot reach a consensus, the case can be escalated to the en banc.

This case is significant not only for whether Representative Choi retains his seat but also for its impact on his potential candidacy in the general election next April, making the timing of the verdict crucial.

Representative Choi is accused of issuing a false internship confirmation letter in October 2017 while working as a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek, which obstructed the graduate school admissions process for Cho Mo, the son of former Minister Cho. Both the first and second trials found Representative Choi guilty and sentenced him to eight months in prison with a two-year probation. If the en banc upholds the lower court rulings, Representative Choi will lose his seat under the Public Official Election Act and will be barred from running in elections during the probation period.

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