Rep. Choi sentenced to lose seat for falsifying 'internship confirmation' of Cho Kuk's son
Ko Min-jung, Kim Eui-gyeom, etc. protest "Investigation of Cho Kuk family was intentional from the start"
Jin Joong-kwon: "'Protect' is the only agenda... Rename to 'Deobureo Jikindang'"
Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk (left) and Choi Kang-wook, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (right).
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Some members of the Democratic Party of Korea have actively come to the defense of their party colleague, Representative Choi Kang-wook, who was sentenced to lose his parliamentary seat in the second trial for issuing a false internship certificate to the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. They issued a joint statement saying, "It is hard to accept that this is a wrongdoing serious enough to lose a parliamentary seat," and strongly opposed the ruling as unfair. The Democratic Party, which faced public criticism over the Cho Kuk incident and pledged multiple times to apologize and reform, appears to have fallen once again into the 'River of Cho Kuk.'
On the 20th, 18 opposition figures including members of the Democratic Party released a statement regarding Representative Choi’s trial, saying, "Representative Choi is at risk of losing his parliamentary seat. The main reason for the guilty verdict is the ambiguous use of the term '16 hours' in the internship certificate issued to former Minister Cho’s son, whether it refers to total hours or weekly hours." They asserted, "Former Minister Cho’s son actually interned at Representative Choi’s office several times, and there are clear testimonies and records supporting this."
They also stated, "The investigation into the Cho family was intentional from the start. The prosecution wielded the sword given by the people for its own sake," and questioned, "Among the ministerial candidates of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, who has been subjected to numerous raids before even holding confirmation hearings due to suspicions?" They added, "Even if the whole family receives Fulbright scholarships, repeatedly benefits from preferential treatment as former officials revolving through law firms, or faces allegations of ghostwriting papers, is it acceptable just because it’s not Cho Kuk?"
The statement was signed by Democratic Party members Han Byung-do, Lee Yong-seon, Yoon Young-chan, Jung Tae-ho, Ko Min-jung, Kim Young-bae, Jin Sung-jun, Yoon Gun-young, Shin Jeong-hoon, Yoon Young-duk, Park Young-soon, Kim Seung-won, Moon Jung-bok, Park Sang-hyuk, Lee Jang-seop, Lee Won-taek, Kim Ui-gyeom, and independent lawmaker Min Hyung-bae, who recently left the Democratic Party.
On the same day, the 5-1 Criminal Appeals Division of the Seoul Central District Court upheld the original sentence of 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation for Representative Choi, who was charged with obstruction of business for issuing a false internship certificate to former Minister Cho’s son, Cho Mo.
Representative Choi was indicted in January 2020 on charges of issuing a false internship certificate in October 2017 while working as a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek, which obstructed the graduate school admissions process that Cho Mo applied for. Cho Mo used this certificate for admissions to graduate schools at Korea University and Yonsei University and was admitted to both in 2018.
The internship certificate issued by Representative Choi stated, "Internship activities were conducted twice a week for a total of 16 hours from January to October 2017." However, the appellate court judged that it was difficult to see that Cho Mo actually engaged in activities as stated in the certificate. The appellate court pointed out that there was no evidence that Cho Mo visited the law firm twice a week or a significant number of times, no materials confirming what work was done, and that Representative Choi’s statements regarding Cho Mo’s internship hours were inconsistent. If the sentence is finalized by the Supreme Court, Representative Choi will lose his parliamentary seat.
Immediately after the verdict, Representative Choi stated, "There must be social perceptions or standards regarding internship activities, but I cannot understand why the court uses separate standards to make detailed judgments," expressing that he considers the ruling unfair.
Some have criticized the Democratic Party for falling once again into the 'River of Cho Kuk,' pointing to Representative Choi’s attitude toward the verdict and opposition lawmakers’ efforts to 'protect Choi Kang-wook.' The Democratic Party had pledged reform several times around the last presidential election by apologizing and reflecting on the Cho Kuk incident. However, by repeatedly making statements such as 'the investigation into the Cho family was intentional,' which contradict reflection, the party cannot avoid criticism questioning the sincerity of its reform efforts.
Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon wrote on Facebook, "Protecting Cho Kuk, protecting Moon Jae-in, protecting Lee Jae-myung, protecting Choi Kang-wook ? 'protecting' is the Democratic Party’s only political agenda," and criticized, "They should never have done things that need protecting in the first place. What on earth are they doing? They should just rename the party to the Democratic Protected Party."
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