Supreme Court: "Dongyang University PC, Evidence with Specific and Individual Connection to the Case" (Comprehensive)

Jeong Gyeong-sim Sentenced to 4 Years for Admission Fraud
15 Charges Including Forgery of Commendation
Bail Request Due to Health Deterioration 'Automatically Rejected'
4th Confirmation Among Former Minister Cho's Family

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Jeong Gyeong-shim, former professor at Dongyang University and wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges including admission corruption involving their children, has been sentenced to four years in prison. This comes about two years and five months after the prosecution began its investigation.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Panel (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) on the morning of the 27th dismissed all appeals in Jeong's final appeal trial and upheld the original sentence of four years imprisonment, a fine of 50 million KRW, and a confiscation amount of approximately 10.61 million KRW.

As a result of this ruling, Jeong's bail request filed on the 10th was automatically rejected. She had applied for bail citing health deterioration. She had collapsed in the detention center after attending a continuation trial related to admission corruption at the Seoul Central District Court with former Minister Cho on the 24th of last month and was hospitalized at an external hospital.

The court recognized the evidentiary validity of the "Dongyang University lounge PC," which was the key issue in this case. This PC contained files related to the forgery of the award certificate of Jeong's daughter, Cho Min. During a search of Dongyang University, the prosecution collected a PC discarded in the lounge, confirmed signs of forgery, and submitted it as evidence in the trial. While the first and second trials accepted it as evidence, the judgment diverged when the court in the first trial of former Minister Cho, who faced the same charges as Jeong, did not accept the Dongyang University PC as evidence on the 24th of last month.

The Supreme Court panel stated, "The parts of the information stored on the PC used as evidence of the crime are recognized as necessary and relevant for seizure." Furthermore, since Jeong was under investigation when the PC was voluntarily submitted to the prosecution, it was firmly established that "the PC is evidence with a specific and individual connection to the case."

The court also pointed out, "During the seizure and search procedures of the information on the PC, the prosecution gave opportunities by confirming the willingness of Jeong's assistant and the head of administrative support to participate, but they voluntarily declined." Considering objective circumstances such as the PC being left in the lounge and the possibility of its future use as a shared PC, the court acknowledged that the management and disposition rights of the PC belonged to Dongyang University at that time, not Jeong.

Jeong faced 15 charges including forging her daughter Cho Min's Dongyang University award certificate and exerting undue pressure during the admission process. The prosecution began a forced investigation in August 2019, indicted Jeong a month later on charges of forging the award certificate, and investigated suspicions that Jeong and others used undisclosed information related to the secondary battery company WFM for financial gain, leading to additional charges in November of the same year. The first trial found most of the 15 charges guilty and sentenced her to four years in prison, a fine of 500 million KRW, and confiscation of approximately 140 million KRW. The second trial upheld the guilty verdicts on all charges related to admission corruption (including obstruction of business) and maintained the four-year prison sentence. However, some charges related to insider trading of undisclosed information about WFM (violation of the Capital Markets Act) were overturned, reducing the fine and confiscation to 50 million KRW and approximately 10 million KRW, respectively.

With this, the number of individuals related to the Cho Kuk family allegations who have received final rulings from the Supreme Court has increased to four. Cho Beom-dong, a fifth cousin of former Minister Cho who was charged with violating the Capital Markets Act, was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 50 million KRW, and his younger brother Cho Kwon received a three-year prison sentence, both finalized last year. Kim Kyung-rok, who worked as the asset manager for the Cho couple, received an eight-month prison sentence with a two-year probation, which was finalized. Excluding the time Jeong has already served, she is expected to be released in June 2024, about two years and four months from now.