Cho Kuk: "Yoon Seok-yeol's prosecution staged a hostage situation involving my daughter's friend's family to catch me"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk is speaking before attending the continuation of the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 23rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk expressed mixed feelings upon seeing a social media post by Jang, a friend of his daughter Cho Min, who reversed her courtroom testimony stating she had no memory of seeing Cho's daughter at the seminar, saying, "My grudge distorted the truth."

Jang, a classmate of Cho Min at Han Young Foreign Language High School and son of Professor Jang Youngpyo at Dankook University, posted on SNS on the 25th, "I sincerely apologize to Cho Min and her family," adding, "The girl wearing glasses captured on the seminar video is indeed the daughter of former Minister Cho."

Jang said, "My family helped you, but I think I gave retaliatory and reckless testimony that day because I felt 'my family suffered because of you,'" and added, "I hope this meaningless mudslinging fight ends soon and that the professor's family regains peace as before."

Regarding this, former Minister Cho stated, "The special investigation unit interrogated Jang's entire family 11 times to catch me. It was another 'family hostage drama,'" and claimed, "How do you think Jang felt being interrogated by the special investigation unit without a lawyer? It's obvious."

He further explained, "In Jang's case, she arrived at the prosecution office at 9:35 a.m. for the third interrogation, but the questioning started at 1:05 p.m. The records show there was a 'pre-interview' for two and a half hours excluding lunch, and Jang testified that she watched the conference video for 20 minutes."

Former Minister Cho emphasized, "What conversations did the prosecutor have with Jang during the remaining approximately two hours, and what suggestions were given? Why is that content not recorded?" He stressed the need to specifically disclose the timing and content of the 'pre-interview' to prove that there was no inducement or pressure from the prosecutor on the witness.

He also pointed out, "The media must have witnessed lawyers emphasizing the unusual aspects in court," questioning, "Is only the 'Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution's' claim the 'truth,' and are the defendant's and lawyers' claims 'false'?"

Finally, former Minister Cho said, "The road ahead is long, bearing the shackles of being a defendant imposed by the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution and enduring the stigma of being labeled a criminal by the media," but added, "I will continue walking tirelessly, believing in the maxim that 'the final bastion of human rights is the court.'"

Former Minister Cho had also mentioned doubts about the prosecution investigation records concerning his daughter’s friend on the 24th. In response, the Citizens' Action for Judicial Justice (Sasehaeng) submitted a petition to the Ministry of Justice requesting an investigation into a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office who was in charge of interviewing Jang.