[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Sung-pil] On the 8th, at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Chief Judge Lim Jeong-yeop), the criminal trial of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University was held, where Park Mo, the head of the faculty personnel team at Dongyang University, and Lee Gwang-ryeol, former director of the KIST Technology Policy Research Institute, appeared as witnesses.
Park testified regarding the issuance of Dongyang University certificates of commendation, while former director Lee testified about the process of issuing an internship confirmation letter for Professor Jeong's daughter.
Summarizing their testimonies, the certificate of commendation did not use the official seal generally used by the school, and the internship confirmation letter was issued without content verification.
◆Dongyang University staff: "We stamp the seal instead of using scanned files" = During the morning session of this case where Park appeared as a witness, a recorded phone conversation of Professor Jeong was played.
The conversation was between Professor Jeong and Park on September 5 of last year, when the issue of forged Dongyang University certificates of commendation arose ahead of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's confirmation hearing.
The prosecution presented this conversation as evidence, judging that Professor Jeong likely forged the certificate by confirming the process of stamping the official seal on the certificate.
Below is part of the conversation:
During the call, when Professor Jeong said, "Other professors also scan and use the official seal, so that's a relief," Park explained again, "General administrative departments do not use scanned files but stamp the seal."
When the prosecution asked Park, "Was this the first time you heard from Professor Jeong about the existence of a scanned file of the president's official seal?" Park answered, "Yes."
◆Defense attorney: "If it was forged, would she ask about ink smudging?"= The defense attorney for Professor Jeong also referred to the phone conversation during cross-examination.
The defense asked Park, "The prosecutor questioned that Professor Jeong repeatedly asked the witness about whether the ink smudges and sought confirmation. What do you think was the reason for that?"
Park replied, "Because there was a certificate at Professor Jeong's house that did not smudge, it seems she was checking whether the certificate was issued by scanning."
The defense countered, "If Professor Jeong had forged it, wouldn't she have no need to ask the witness about ink smudging?"
The argument was that Professor Jeong did not forge the certificate and was purely asking Park to confirm the existence of a scanned file.
The defense also cited the testimony of another witness, Im Mo, to claim that a scanned file of the official seal used on Dongyang University diplomas exists.
They presented an English certificate using the president's official seal scanned file as rebuttal evidence.
Park said, "I have heard that a digital scanned file is used only for diplomas that need to be mass-produced," but added, "I do not know if the official seal used on the English certificate is a scanned file."
◆Judge's request: "Clearly state your position on the certificate of commendation"= After the questioning of Park by both sides ended, the court pointed out, "It seems the defendant's side is conducting questioning without any claim regarding the issuance of the certificate of commendation." The core issue is whether Professor Jeong was involved in the forgery of the certificate, but there is no position from the party on this.
The court asked Professor Jeong's side, "Please clarify whether you merely received the certificate of commendation that was not involved in forgery, or whether the defendant issued the certificate directly under implicit consent or delegated authority rules, even if the president did not personally stamp the seal," adding, "You need to clarify your position so that the evidence investigation can focus on determining whether forgery occurred."
The court also requested the prosecution to specify their proof plan regarding the two parallel cases of Dongyang University certificate forgery.
This was to address the significant factual differences between the indictment facts of the case first filed against Professor Jeong in September last year and the additional indictment filed after the refusal to amend the indictment.
The court said, "The time, method, and place of the crime differ, but the facts must be one in proof," and added, "It would be good if you clearly state how you plan to prove the case."
◆Former KIST director: "I issued the confirmation letter at Jeong Gyeong-sim's request"= In the afternoon trial, former director Lee testified in court that "I issued the internship confirmation letter for Professor Jeong's daughter at her request."
Lee was an elementary school classmate of Professor Jeong and introduced her daughter as an intern to the research lab of Professor Jeong Byeong-hwa, who was the head of the KIST Molecular Recognition Research Center, at Professor Jeong's request in 2012.
Although Professor Jeong's daughter worked only two days, Lee issued a confirmation letter stating she worked for three weeks via email, and this confirmation letter was used for her medical school admission at Seoul National University.
Lee said, "I did not get approval or content confirmation from Professor Jeong Byeong-hwa to write the internship confirmation letter," and "Since my friend Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim asked, I thought it was trustworthy and just wrote it."
However, Lee said, "(The certificate) is just a personal letter," and "It is not an official certificate."
Regarding the fact that Professor Jeong revised the confirmation letter sent by Lee before applying to medical school, Lee testified, "There was no prior approval or subsequent consent," and "I thought it was disrespectful."
The revised confirmation letter submitted to medical school included phrases such as "5 days a week, 8 hours a day, total 120 hours," "Monday to Friday 9-6," and "diligently."
During cross-examination, Professor Jeong's side argued that Dr. Lee's memory was unclear, so his testimony was not reliable. The defense pointed out, "Isn't it that he said there was no prior approval or subsequent consent because he doesn't remember whether the confirmation letter was revised?"
Professor Jeong's side also focused on proving that there was no legal problem with the internship confirmation letter stating three weeks, as the period included the time when her daughter did not attend due to internal conflicts at KIST and the period she officially went to Kenya with prior consent.
◆Cho Kuk and Jeong Gyeong-sim couple to stand trial in the same courtroom= Former Minister Cho Kuk and Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim will stand trial in the same courtroom.
The court announced that day, "We will not consolidate (the two cases in which Professor Jeong was separately indicted)."
This decision came because Professor Jeong's side had opposed, saying "Having the couple stand in the same courtroom is humiliating," but did not take the necessary procedural steps.
On the 30th of last month, the court asked Professor Jeong's side, "If you wish to consolidate the parts concerning Professor Jeong among the cases in Division 21, please submit consolidation applications to both Criminal Division 21 and this court by the 3rd."
The court was willing to separately handle the part related to the son's admission fraud, in which former Minister Cho Kuk was also indicted, within Professor Jeong's trial if she wished.
However, Professor Jeong's side did not submit the consolidation application by the deadline set by the court, and the court made a decision on consolidation that day.
Accordingly, some parts of Professor Jeong's case, which were once considered for separation or consolidation, will remain with Criminal Division 21 (Chief Judge Kim Mi-ri), which is handling former Minister Cho Kuk's case. The couple is expected to stand trial together in the same courtroom.
Previously, Professor Jeong was indicted in November last year on charges including forgery of official documents and has been on trial at Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25.
In December of the same year, when her husband, former Minister Cho Kuk, was left on trial for charges including admission fraud, she was additionally indicted on the same charges, and this case was assigned to the same court's Criminal Division 21.
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