Yoon's Mother-in-Law Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison... Cho Kuk Says "Prosecutors Issued a Cheap Ticket"

Praising Former Lawmaker Choi Kang-wook

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk criticized the Supreme Court's final ruling of imprisonment against Choi Eun-soon, mother-in-law of President Yoon Seok-yeol, saying the prosecution "gave her a 'cheap ticket'." The recent confirmation of a one-year prison sentence for Choi by the Supreme Court is interpreted as criticism of a 'lenient punishment.'

On the 19th, former Minister Cho posted on his Facebook, "The prosecution did not even indict Choi for forgery of private documents and fraud in litigation, making it impossible to review her guilt or innocence. However, her accomplices were indicted on these charges," adding, "The prosecution gave her a 'cheap ticket' in the 'Seocho-dong slang' sense."

Former Minister Cho also praised former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook. He said, "There is a fact many people forget. Without former lawmaker Choi's accusation, there would have been no guilty verdict against Choi Eun-soon," and added, "At the time, many Democratic Party lawmakers were reluctant to file the accusation, fearing a 'backlash.' I wish 'unemployed' Choi Kang-wook good luck," showing support.

The case against Choi began in April 2020 when President Yoon, then Prosecutor General, was in office, and Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, among others, filed a complaint against Choi Eun-soon. After the complaint, former lawmaker Choi was sentenced to eight months in prison with a two-year probation for issuing a false internship certificate to former Minister Cho's son and lost his parliamentary seat in September.

Predictions Arise in Political Circles That Former Minister Cho Will Form a New Party

Choi Eun-soon, mother-in-law of President Yoon Seok-yeol, is moving to the courtroom for the appellate trial related to charges including forgery of bank account balance certificates at the Uijeongbu District Court in Ganeung-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do on July 21.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 16th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) upheld the original sentence of one year imprisonment against Choi, who was tried on charges including forgery of private documents. Choi was indicted for forging balance certificates four times, making it appear that approximately 34.9 billion KRW was deposited in a savings bank during the purchase of land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province in 2013.

Choi is also accused of conspiring with a business partner to file a lawsuit demanding the return of a deposit related to the land and submitting forged balance certificates worth about 10 billion KRW to the court.

In both the first and second trials, the courts found Choi guilty on all charges and sentenced her to one year in prison. Choi appealed, claiming the sentence was unfair, but the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence and rejected her bail request.

Meanwhile, political circles are predicting that former Minister Cho will form a new party. If he does, it is expected that figures considered his 'political comrades,' including former lawmaker Choi, will join him.

On September 18, former Minister Cho wrote on Facebook, "Choi Kang-wook. A man of fighting spirit, boldness, and cheerfulness. Someone my family liked even more than I did," adding, "One door has closed, but another will open." Former lawmaker Choi also attended the 'Tears of Dike' book concert held by former Minister Cho on the 18th at Jeonju Jeonbuk National University.

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