Appeal filed with appellate court on the 26th... 2nd trial sentenced to 8 months imprisonment and 2 years probation
Appellate court: "No evidence confirming that Cho Kuk's son visited frequently"
Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was indicted on charges of falsifying an internship certificate at a law firm for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, is expressing his position after being sentenced to a penalty resulting in loss of his parliamentary seat at the appellate trial held on the 20th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (age 54), who is accused of falsifying an internship certificate for the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk at a law firm, has appealed the appellate court's ruling that sentenced him to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence. If the second trial's decision is upheld in the Supreme Court, Choi will lose his parliamentary seat.
According to the legal community on the 26th, Choi submitted a notice of appeal through his lawyer to the appellate court, Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 5-1 (Presiding Judges Choi Byung-ryul, Won Jeong-sook, and Jeong Deok-su).
Choi was indicted without detention on charges of obstructing graduate school admissions by issuing a false internship certificate to Cho Won, the son of former Minister Cho, in October 2017 while working as a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek.
Choi claimed that Cho actually participated as an intern, but both the first and second trials did not accept this as fact.
The appellate court ruled, "Although it appears that the son of former Minister Cho may have visited the law firm's office several times to meet the defendant (Choi), there is no evidence to suggest he visited twice a week or with considerable frequency, nor is there any material confirming why he visited or what activities he performed."
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