[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Regarding Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, who was sentenced to four years in prison for her child's admission corruption and private equity fund charges, a netizen suggested, "Let's gather defense fees for Professor Jeong from the public little by little."
On the 24th, a netizen posted a message titled "[Proposal] A way for Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim, is this possible?" on the free board of Ddanzi Ilbo (CEO Kim Eo-jun).
The netizen said, "It really doesn't feel like someone else's issue. Professor Jeong must be very ill. She must be physically unwell and emotionally hurt. How anxious she must be! Still, she needs to prepare for an appeal. Here is the method I thought of," continuing.
The netizen added, "What if the defense team is formed by citizens who support Professor Jeong gathering defense fees little by little?" and said, "Just 1,000 won per person, with a goal of ten million people. That would be 10 billion won."
They further argued, "The defense team would consist of 100 people. The team would include lawyers and researchers. Their costs would be covered by the collected funds, and they would support the appeal process in parallel."
As of 5 p.m. on the 25th, this post recorded about 12,200 views and received 356 recommendations. Comments included responses such as "Even if we can't do the independence movement, we will protect Cho Kuk and Moonp (President Moon Jae-in)" and "I will participate with the spirit of holding a candle."
Going further, there was also an opinion proposing concrete plans, claiming to have consulted former Minister Cho Kuk's intentions. Yang, who introduced himself as a pastor who gave a speech at last year's Seocho-dong rally and started the petition campaign for Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim, said, "I just spoke with Minister Cho Kuk, and he said he is cautious because of the money issue," adding, "But I think our way of action must change now."
He continued, "They have declared war on us, so we can't just stay quiet," and said, "If an individual starts, the fundraiser could be reported for violating donation laws. We are registered as a church, so we can handle it as a religious organization's donation. I will take responsibility," stepping forward.
According to the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations, anyone intending to collect donations exceeding 10 million won must prepare a collection and usage plan and register it with the registration office. Failure to comply may result in imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won. Yang's proposal appears to suggest using donations through a religious organization to avoid this.
Meanwhile, after related reports were released, Yang deleted the post.
Kim Kyung-yul, an accountant and co-author of the 'Cho Kuk Black Book,' criticized, "Even in this situation, they are thinking about raising money again. These clever and cunning ones, they are really good at finding opportunities to raise money."
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