Court to Hold First Trial for Yoon Seok-yeol Prosecutor General's Mother-in-Law on the 14th of Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The first trial of Choi Mo (74), the mother-in-law of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who was indicted on charges of forging a deposit balance certificate, will be held on the 14th of next month.

As testimonies between Choi and her former business partner, who were indicted together, are conflicting, a fierce battle over the truth is expected in court.

According to the court on the 9th, the first trial regarding Choi's charges of forgery of private documents will be held on the 14th of next month at the Uijeongbu District Court, presided over by a single judge of Criminal Division 8.

Choi's former business partner Ahn Mo (58) and accomplice Kim Mo (43), who face the same charges, will also stand trial on the same day.

Earlier, the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Hyo-sam), which investigated the case, indicted Choi and Ahn on the 27th of last month without detention on charges of forgery of private documents, use of forged private documents, and violation of the Real Name Real Estate Act, and Kim on charges of forgery of private documents.

They are accused of conspiring to forge a total of four deposit balance certificates, making it appear as if 34.7 billion won was deposited at Bank A during the purchase of land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, from April to October 2013.

The prosecution believes that Choi and others committed this act to demonstrate financial capability to officials of the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) in order to obtain real estate information.

Choi and Ahn are also charged with using the forged deposit balance certificates during civil litigation. Ahn is additionally accused of using the forged balance certificate when borrowing money from an acquaintance.

Moreover, the prosecution applied charges against Choi and Ahn for contracting and registering the purchase of the Dochon-dong land under the names of Ahn’s son-in-law and others.

So far, Choi has claimed that she was deceived by Ahn into creating the balance certificates and that she is a victim of fraud by Ahn. On the other hand, Ahn maintains that he never asked Choi to forge the deposit balance certificates.