[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The appellate court verdict for Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was sentenced to lose his parliamentary seat in the first trial for issuing a false internship certificate for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, will be announced on the 20th.
At 2 p.m. on the same day, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 5-1 (Presiding Judges Choi Byung-ryul, Won Jeong-sook, Jeong Deok-su) is scheduled to hold the appellate trial sentencing hearing for Choi, who was indicted on charges including obstruction of business.
In the previous closing argument, the prosecutor requested the court to "sentence him to one year in prison, as in the first trial's prosecution request."
In the appeal, Choi's side argued that the first trial court misunderstood the content of the internship certificate issued to Cho's son, Cho Mo. The certificate stated that Cho's internship activity was "twice a week for a total of 16 hours," but unlike the first trial court's judgment that interpreted this as "16 hours per week," they argued it should be recognized as "a total of 16 hours."
This is interpreted as an attempt to overturn the first trial's guilty verdict, which acknowledged that Cho visited the Cheongmaek office several times during evenings or holidays to do English translation work but ruled guilty because the certificate's content differed.
The first trial sentenced him to eight months in prison with a two-year probation. The court judged that both Choi and Cho's son's testimonies were not credible. The first trial court stated, "The activity details of Cho's son do not match the certificate's content and cannot be seen as merely exaggerated," adding, "The certificate does not correspond to the actual activities performed, which likely caused misunderstanding or confusion for the admissions officer."
According to the Public Official Election Act and the National Assembly Act, a member of the National Assembly loses their eligibility for election and parliamentary seat if sentenced to imprisonment or higher (including suspended sentences).
Choi was prosecuted for issuing false internship certificates twice in 2017 and 2018 while working as a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek. Cho submitted these certificates to graduate school admissions at Korea University and Yonsei University and was admitted to both. At the time of indictment, Choi was the Secretary for Public Office Discipline at the Blue House and was elected as a proportional representation candidate in the April 15, 2020 general election.
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