Choi Kang-wook Loses Parliamentary Seat Following Final Prison Sentence... Heo Suk-jeong Succeeds Seat

Supreme Court Confirms Choi Kang-wook's 8-Month Prison Sentence with 2-Year Probation
Army Lieutenant Huh Sook-jung Succeeds to Lawmaker Position

On the 18th, Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was indicted for issuing a false internship certificate to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, had his prison sentence finalized by the Supreme Court, resulting in the loss of his parliamentary seat. Accordingly, Heo Sook-jung, former Army Lieutenant and number 5 on the Open Democratic Party's proportional representation list, succeeded to the proportional representation seat.

Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was prosecuted for falsifying an internship verification letter for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, is speaking after the Supreme Court appellate trial verdict on the afternoon of the 18th at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Immediately after the Supreme Court ruling at the Seoul Seocho District on the same day, Representative Choi Kang-wook told reporters, “I respect the judgment made by the judiciary, but I have regrets,” adding, “I believe I sufficiently argued the legal points against the reckless, targeted investigations and rushed indictments conducted by the political prosecution, but there was no related judgment at all.”

Choi said, “I had hoped for a progressive ruling regarding the previously abused search and seizure procedures and the protection of victims’ human rights, but it was a vain hope,” and expressed concern, saying, “As times get tougher, I worry that attempts by the regime or authorities to hollow out even the remaining functions of the judiciary will not cease.”

He added, “I think my journey in the 21st National Assembly must end here,” and said, “I plan to return as a citizen and look for ways to contribute to the development of democracy in the Republic of Korea, prosecution reform, judicial reform, and the protection of citizens’ human rights.”

The Supreme Court’s full bench (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) held a hearing on the appeal of Representative Choi, who was indicted on charges of obstruction of business, and upheld the lower court’s ruling sentencing him to eight months in prison with a two-year probation. As a result of this ruling, Representative Choi loses his seat in the National Assembly. Elected officials lose their qualifications or parliamentary seats if they are convicted of imprisonment or higher in general criminal cases, or fined 1 million won or more for violations of the Public Official Election Act.

Choi is accused of issuing a false certificate stating that Cho Mo, the son of former Minister Cho, interned at the law firm Cheongmaek in 2017, where Choi was working as a lawyer, thereby obstructing the work of graduate school admissions officers to whom Cho Mo had applied.

With Choi’s loss of his parliamentary seat, Heo Sook-jung, former lieutenant and first in line (number 5) on the Open Democratic Party’s proportional representation list, succeeded to Choi’s proportional representation seat. The Open Democratic Party merged with the Democratic Party ahead of the 20th presidential election early last year.

Heo, originally from Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, graduated from Seoul Women’s University with a degree in Korean Language and Literature and served as a personnel and safety officer in the 30th Mechanized Infantry Division before completing her service. Since then, she has been active as an advocate for the rights of adults with developmental disabilities.

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