[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] It has come to light that Cho Min, daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, passed the national medical licensing examination (Kuksi) and obtained a medical license, sparking criticism that this is unfair.
The first trial court that handled the case of Jeong Gyeong-sim, former professor at Dongyang University and wife of former Minister Cho, acknowledged all the prosecution’s charges that the four career certificates submitted by Cho Min during her admission were forged and false, yet pointed out that passing the national medical exam and becoming a doctor is unfair.
Among people in their 20s and 30s who held candles claiming that Cho Kuk was unfit to serve as Minister of Justice due to related suspicions when he took office in 2019, there is not only anger but also bitter criticism.
In particular, when it was revealed in 2016 that Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil)’s daughter Jung Yoo-ra was admitted to Ewha Womans University through fraudulent means, the university canceled her admission even before Choi was indicted. This has led to bitter resentment questioning why such standards are not applied to former Minister Cho.
A university student in their 20s attending a university in Seoul, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "I don’t know much about politics, but I know very well that this is unfair." They added, "The court ruled there was a problem, so I don’t understand how she could take the national medical exam," expressing frustration.
On December 23 last year, the first trial court (Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2, presided by Judge Lim Jeong-yeop) that handled Professor Jeong’s admission fraud case sentenced her to four years in prison and a fine of 500 million won, finding that Cho Min submitted seven false career certificates when applying to medical graduate schools.
The court found guilty the so-called "seven major false credentials" claimed by the prosecution, including △ false internship and first author paper credentials at Dankook University, △ false internship and third author paper credentials at Kongju National University, △ forgery of Dongyang University president’s certificate of commendation, △ false research assistant credentials at Dongyang University, △ false internship credentials at Seoul National University Public Interest and Human Rights Law Center, and △ false internship credentials at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).
The court judged, "Professor Jeong played a leading role in submitting false self-introduction letters and supporting documents when her daughter applied to Seoul National University and Pusan National University medical graduate schools, thereby obstructing the work of evaluators who wanted to select talent through fair procedures."
Furthermore, the court stated, "To make her daughter appear more capable than other applicants, she obtained internship certificates containing false information from acquaintances and later committed forgery by receiving a certificate of commendation for volunteer work she did not perform," adding, "Considering the increasingly specific and bold methods of the crimes, the nature of the offense is very bad."
Given this situation, criticism among experts is growing. While the unfair circumstances cause outrage, there are also questions about whether she truly has the qualifications of a specialist.
On the 16th, Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Pediatric Society, posted a statement on his Facebook saying, "Due to the lukewarm and inequitable responses of the Minister of Education, the President of Pusan National University, and the Dean of Pusan National University Medical School who said they would wait for the Supreme Court ruling, an unqualified person who fraudulently entered medical school has donned a white coat," and criticized, "I am so angry and appalled that I want to tear up the medical license and white coat."
Regarding Cho Min’s verdict, President Lim pointed out, "On December 23, 2020, the judiciary ruled guilty on numerous grounds that Cho Min’s mother, Jeong Gyeong-sim (Dongyang University professor), fraudulently admitted her daughter to Korea University and Pusan National University medical graduate schools," emphasizing, "In 2016, the Ministry of Education canceled Jung Yoo-ra’s admission to Ewha Womans University based solely on its own audit results before the trial even began."
He also listed cases of admission cancellations, saying, "In 2019, the Ministry of Education and Seoul National University immediately canceled the admission of a fraudulently admitted student who entered the dental school with credentials fabricated by her mother, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University College of Pharmacy, as soon as she was indicted."
President Lim said, "Today, 130,000 doctors and medical students are angry and appalled to the point of wanting to tear up their medical licenses and white coats over the situation where an unqualified person who fraudulently entered medical school is wearing a white coat and pretending to be a doctor, endangering patients’ lives."
On the 16th, Professor Seo Min of Dankook University College of Medicine also called Cho Min the "Angel of Death" and urged, "When you go to a hospital, be sure to check the doctor’s name." This is interpreted as criticism that the specialist qualification cannot be trusted due to various admission suspicions.
On his blog that day, Professor Seo posted an article titled "Ta-da. The Death God Cho X (referring to former Minister Cho’s daughter) is coming," explaining, "There are many older students in medical schools. It may be because studying is difficult, but a more important reason is that many latecomers are trying to realize their dream of becoming doctors late," and added, "Once you obtain a medical license, it lasts a lifetime," and "Even if you misdiagnose and cause death, it is the same."
Professor Seo introduced, "The person who killed the most people in Korea was Police Officer Woo." In April 1982, Woo Beom-gon, a police officer at Uiryeong Police Station in Gyeongsangnam-do, fired his gun after an argument with his cohabitant, killing 62 people and injuring 33. He said, "If one doctor deliberately misdiagnoses, they can easily surpass Woo’s record."
Professor Seo claimed, "However, a talent who can surpass Police Officer Woo’s record has entered the medical market in Korea," and "That name is Cho X (referring to former Minister Cho’s daughter)."
On the other hand, supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea collectively congratulated Cho Min on passing the national medical exam and expressed gratitude to former Minister Cho. On a pro-government online community, one wrote, "Congratulations to former Minister Cho Kuk. Congratulations to Cho Min for passing the medical exam," without showing any critical opinions regarding fairness controversies. Another Democratic Party supporter said, "The situation with the prosecution investigation was not good, but I feel some consolation from the news that former Minister Cho’s daughter passed the national medical exam."
While controversy over fairness is ongoing regarding Cho Min’s passing of the national medical exam, there is also a possibility that her medical license could be revoked. According to Article 5 of the Medical Service Act, the qualification to obtain a medical license is "graduates of medical schools or medical graduate schools." Therefore, if Cho Min’s admission is canceled as a result of the trial, her graduation will also be invalidated, and her medical license could be nullified. Pusan National University Medical Graduate School, where Cho Min is currently about to graduate, has stated it will wait for the Supreme Court’s decision before deciding whether to cancel her admission.
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