Former Minister Cho: "Family Private Equity Fund Value Virtually Zero"
"Last Year, Opposition Media Launched Fierce Attacks Claiming Illegal Inheritance and Wealth Succession"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who reportedly suffered losses from a family private equity fund, saying, "How is that evidence of integrity?"
On the 20th, Jin wrote on his Facebook targeting Cho, saying, "But you almost made a lot of money," adding, "High risk, high return."
He sarcastically criticized, "Consider losing money as a blessing," and "If it hadn't happened, it could have been a big problem."
Earlier, Cho Kuk stated on Facebook that "Since yesterday, reporters have been sending messages asking again about last year's matters and how much profit was made," and revealed, "Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim (Cho's wife) legally gifted 50 million won each to their children."
He continued, "Although holding individual stocks is prohibited, joining private equity funds is allowed, so following the recommendation of a fifth cousin nephew, the money was put into the problematic private equity fund," explaining, "However, after last year's incident, the value of the problematic private equity fund effectively dropped to zero, and all the money invested in the fund disappeared. Far from making a big profit, there was a huge loss."
He added, "Last year, the media and opposition parties fiercely attacked this as 'illegal inheritance' and 'wealth inheritance,'" emphasizing, "As someone who 'has wealth,' regardless of legality, I publicly apologized for causing discomfort to the public."
Meanwhile, controversy arose within the ruling party when it was revealed that the two sons of former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who left the party, jointly own a villa in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with assets exceeding 1.6 billion won each, prompting questions about whether gift taxes were properly paid.
In response, former lawmaker Geum explained on Facebook, "This house was gifted to the family by my late father-in-law at the end of 2015," adding, "I received it with gratitude and naturally paid all the gift taxes. Currently, the house is rented out under a lease, and the deposit is held in the form of savings."
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