Jin Joong-kwon: "Saying 11 Charges Against Cho Kuk Are Narrow... The Blue House Has Gone Crazy"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized the Blue House for commenting that the indictment submitted by the prosecution against former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk was "petty," saying, "Finally, even the Blue House has gone crazy."

Earlier, on the 31st of last month, Yoon Do-han, the Blue House Director of National Communication, commented on the prosecution's non-custodial indictment of former Minister Cho on 11 charges (12 counts) including admission fraud, scholarship fraud, and violation of the Public Official Ethics Act, saying, "It was an investigation that shook the president's personnel authority, but the result is too petty," and added, "It was like Taishan ringing but only a mouse appeared (泰山鳴動鼠一匹 - a loud start but a shabby result)."

On the same day, former professor Jin refuted on his Facebook, stating, "There are 11 charges against him alone," and "To ordinary people, each one of them is by no means light."

He continued, "Moreover, the entire family was involved in shameless corruption, yet they called it 'petty,'" adding, "To our eyes, it is excessively dazzling, but to those people, this seems to be nothing."

He then pointed out, "'The president's personnel authority' does not belong to you; the people gave you that authority," and said, "It was not given so that someone who committed such corruption could be arbitrarily appointed as Minister of Justice."

He also expressed concerns about the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Former professor Jin claimed, "The prosecution's tyranny? What we can guess is that if the CIO is established, such corruption will not be punished."