Jung Kyung-shim's Second Trial, Deciding Cho Min's Fate... Prosecution and Defense in a 'Silent War'

Professor Jeong Kyung-shim, Dongyang University / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The appellate court ruling on Professor Jung Kyung-shim of Dongyang University, who was indicted on charges of her child's admission fraud and illegal investment in private equity funds, will be announced on the 11th of next month. This verdict also determines the fate of her daughter, Cho Min. The trial inside the courtroom for Professor Jung ended on the 12th. The presiding court, Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1-2 (Chief Judge Eom Sang-pil), concluded the arguments that day. However, the dispute between the prosecution and the defense team is ongoing. A silent war continues outside the courtroom.

Prosecution submits 300-page briefs... More to come

By the morning of the 29th, the prosecution had submitted five briefs to the court. All were submitted after the last closing arguments, titled "Falsehoods in the Defense's Grounds for Appeal." They contain rebuttals to the defense's claims challenging the first trial's verdict, which found most charges guilty, addressing each issue point by point. Each brief is about 50 to 60 pages long, totaling approximately 300 pages.

At the closing arguments, the prosecution stated that Professor Jung's case was similar to the "state corruption" scandal. The scale of the investigation and the final prosecution maintenance have involved a document war comparable to that of the state corruption case. The prosecution plans to submit additional briefs this week addressing the contentious issues fiercely disputed with Professor Jung's side during the appeal trial.

Appearance of Jomin (inside the red circle) attending the international academic conference video hosted by the Seoul National University Public Interest and Human Rights Law Center

Defense counters with brief on 'daughter's friend recanting testimony'

On the 26th, Professor Jung's defense team submitted a brief in response to the prosecution. It concerns changes in the testimony of a key witness who was the basis for the guilty verdict in the first trial. The brief includes recent testimony from Jang, a classmate from Han Young Foreign Language High School, stating that "the woman in the Dongyang University seminar at Seoul National University Public Interest and Human Rights Law Center is indeed Cho." Jang appeared as a witness on the 23rd at the first trial of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and testified accordingly. The brief also includes a Facebook post by Jang after the court testimony expressing the same view.

From Professor Jung's perspective, this change in the witness's testimony compared to the first trial is used to counter the prosecution's offensive. Previously, in May last year, Jang testified at Professor Jung's first trial that "Cho did not attend the seminar" and "the woman seen in the video is different from Cho."

The related dispute is expected to continue until just before the verdict, as the prosecution plans to submit a rebuttal brief. The prosecution intends to include in the brief the arguments it has made in court so far. The prosecution has argued that "even if Cho briefly sat in the seminar, evaluating her internship activities based solely on that is false."

Korea University Campus View

Cho Min's status may change from 'hospital intern' to 'high school graduate'

The outcome of this appeal ruling will also affect whether Cho, currently a hospital intern, will have her final academic qualification changed. Earlier, Chung Jin-taek, president of Korea University, stated last month, "We will take action regarding Cho after the second trial verdict." This meant that if the admission fraud charges related to Cho are upheld as guilty, as in the first trial, the university would proceed with cancellation of her admission.

President Chung's statement last month reversed the university's previous stance. Korea University had previously declared it would decide on measures regarding Cho after the final trial. However, opposition lawmakers urged a prompt decision, moving the timing of action to after the second trial verdict. Cho entered Korea University's College of Life Sciences in 2010 through early admission (World Leading Talent Track). The prosecution suspects that forged documents, including activity confirmation certificates from Dankook University and Kongju National University and an internship confirmation from Seoul National University, were used in her admission process.