Jeong Gyeong-sim Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison, Ko Hyung-gon Was at the Forefront

Atmosphere Shift Due to Conflict with Presiding Judge
Continued Weekly 560km Commute to Daegu District Prosecutors' Office
Leading the Trial Team

Chief Prosecutor Goh Hyung-gon

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The highlight of the first trial of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University was the unprecedented courtroom confrontation between the court and the prosecution. It took place on December 19 last year in Courtroom 417 of the Seoul Central District Court. When the presiding judge, Chief Judge Song In-kwon, prohibited the reading of the summary of the opinion letter, the prosecution launched a determined filibuster-style protest. They openly criticized the judge, saying, "You are proceeding unfairly with prejudice." Such a direct challenge to the authority of the court by the prosecution in the courtroom was unprecedented. The unprecedented insubordination was led by Chief Prosecutor Ko Hyung-gon.

Chief Prosecutor Ko was the lead investigator in Professor Jeong's case. After indicting Professor Jeong, he had not appeared in court. Typically, in criminal cases, the investigating prosecutor responsible for the indictment stage and the trial prosecutor handling the court proceedings have separate roles. However, when Chief Judge Song rejected the prosecution's request to amend the indictment regarding Professor Jeong's forgery of a certificate (forgery of private documents) and mentioned the possibility of bail, causing the trial to turn unfavorable, Ko personally took charge of maintaining the prosecution's case.

Since then, he attended every trial session of Professor Jeong's case. The trial was held once a week, every Thursday. Even after being transferred to the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office in the prosecution personnel reshuffle in February this year, he did not miss a session. He traveled about 560 km for business trips to lead the prosecution team. His long-distance trips continued until the sentencing trial last month. Ko's participation in the trial played a 'masterstroke' role in resulting in Professor Jeong's detention in court.

When the request to amend the indictment related to the forgery of the certificate was rejected, Chief Prosecutor Ko revised and additionally indicted detailed facts such as the manipulation of the certificate without withdrawing the indictment. The strategy was to brace for an acquittal and appeal to have the higher court overturn the first trial court's judgment, which he believed was incorrect, and to obtain a guilty verdict with the new indictment. Although there was controversy over double prosecution, he countered, saying, "This indictment is based on the court's judgment that did not recognize the identity of the basic facts." The strategy paid off. On the 23rd, the court ruled, "This does not constitute double prosecution," and stated, "It is sufficiently recognized that Professor Jeong forged the certificate."

The prosecution team led by Chief Prosecutor Ko also rebutted the controversy over the illegally collected evidence from the computer in the Dongyang University lecturer's lounge by stating, "We followed the formal voluntary submission procedure." The court accepted this argument, and the computer was admitted as evidence. As a result, Professor Jeong was found guilty on all charges related to the admission bribery. Had the court ruled the computer as illegally obtained evidence, there was a high possibility that Professor Jeong would have been acquitted of the admission bribery charges.

Chief Prosecutor Ko stated, "I respect the court's wise judgment and deeply appreciate their hard work," adding, "I will do my best until the end to ensure that the final result corresponds to the crime and responsibility according to law and principles." He is expected to lead the prosecution team in the upcoming appeal trial as well.