Police Secure Call Records of Assemblyman Joo Kwang-deok Regarding 'Cho Kuk's Daughter's Student Record Leak'

On the afternoon of the 18th, Joo Kwang-deok, a member of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee affiliated with the Liberty Korea Party, explained at the National Assembly Press Hall regarding the acquisition process of the 'secret marriage' judgment document of Ahn Kyung-hwan, the nominee for Minister of Justice, stating that it was obtained through the legislative data electronic distribution system via the Court Administration Office following proper procedures. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The police investigating the alleged leak of the high school records (student records) of the daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk have obtained a communication warrant for Representative Joo Kwang-deok of the United Future Party and are currently examining call records and other data.

According to the police on the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit recently reapplied for a communication warrant (authorization to request communication fact confirmation data) for Representative Joo, which was issued by the court after passing through the prosecution.

Previously, the police had applied for a search warrant for Representative Joo's email and a communication warrant, but the prosecution deemed the communication warrant unnecessary and only requested the court to issue a search warrant for the email.

The police executed the search warrant for Representative Joo's email records issued by the court but failed to find any special circumstances related to the student record leak allegations, leading them to reapply for the communication warrant for Representative Joo.

The police plan to analyze Representative Joo's call records and investigate how the former Minister Cho's daughter's student records were obtained, then decide whether to summon Representative Joo.

Representative Joo claimed last September that he secured the former Minister Cho's daughter's high school student records through a "public interest report," revealing her English grades and sparking controversy over the leak. A civic group filed a complaint against Representative Joo, requesting an investigation into the leak process.

Last year, the police searched the server management department of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and investigated the faculty and staff of Han Young Foreign Language High School, from which the former Minister Cho's daughter graduated, but reportedly failed to detect any signs of a leak.