[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court's ruling on Jeong Gyeong-shim, former professor at Dongyang University and wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to four years in prison in the first and second trials on 15 charges including admission fraud involving her children, will be announced on the 27th. This comes about two years and five months after the prosecution began its investigation.
According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) will hold the sentencing hearing for Jeong, who was indicted on charges including obstruction of business and violation of the Capital Markets Act, at 10:15 a.m. on the 27th.
The prosecution first indicted Jeong in September 2019 on charges of forging a certificate of commendation from Dongyang University for her daughter Cho Min. Subsequently, Jeong and former Minister Cho Kuk were also investigated on suspicions of agreeing to invest more money in a private equity fund than their publicly disclosed assets and exerting undue influence or fabricating documents during their children's admission process.
The prosecution further investigated and brought to trial Cho Kuk's younger brother Cho Gwon and their fifth cousin Cho Beom-dong. In November 2019, Jeong was additionally indicted on 14 charges including false reporting under the Capital Markets Act, use of insider information, violations of the Real Name Financial Transactions Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes related to concealment of criminal proceeds.
The first trial recognized most of the 15 charges as guilty and sentenced her to four years in prison, a fine of 500 million won, and confiscation of approximately 140 million won. The second trial also found her guilty on all charges related to admission fraud (including obstruction of business) and upheld the four-year prison sentence. However, some charges related to insider trading involving undisclosed information about the secondary battery company WFM were overturned, reducing the fine and confiscation to 50 million won and about 10 million won, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jeong, who was detained in a detention center, applied for bail on the 10th citing health deterioration.
Last November, based on the Supreme Court's full bench ruling, it was reported that the prosecution argued that the PCs seized from the Dongyang University lounge, used as evidence to prove the admission fraud charges, were illegally obtained evidence.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
