'Child Admission Fraud Charges' Jo Guk Appeal Trial Starts Next Month on 25th... '1st Trial 2 Years Imprisonment'

by Lee Jungyun

Published 26 Apr.2023 17:34(KST)

The appeal trial of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial on charges including 'child admission corruption,' will begin next month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Woo-su, Kim Jin-ha, Lee In-su) has scheduled the first preparatory hearing for Cho's appeal trial on the 25th of next month. During the preparatory hearing, the defendants' positions on the criminal charges are confirmed and plans for evidence investigation are made; unlike formal trials, defendants are not obligated to appear in court in person.

Cho was indicted in December 2019 on charges related to child admission corruption (obstruction of business, forgery and use of false official documents, forgery of private documents, etc.) and illegal receipt of scholarships for his daughter (bribery).

He faces a total of 12 charges, including violating the Public Officials Ethics Act by failing to submit a blank trust and falsely reporting assets when he was appointed Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, and abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights by covering up the inspection of former Busan Deputy Mayor Yoo Jae-soo during his tenure as Senior Secretary.

In January this year, the first trial court found him guilty of most charges related to child admission corruption and the cover-up of the inspection of former Deputy Mayor Yoo, sentencing Cho to two years in prison and ordering a fine of 6 million won.

However, the court acquitted him of violating the Public Officials Ethics Act, stating there was no evidence that Cho knew about the possession of stocks under a borrowed name, and acquitted him of most charges related to the private equity fund.

Cho's spouse, Jung Kyung-shim, who was indicted together, was sentenced to one year in prison after being found guilty of charges related to their son's admission corruption. Separately, Jung was sentenced to four years in prison last January for charges including their daughter's admission corruption, and is currently serving her sentence.