'허리디스크' Jung Kyung-shim, Temporary Release Possible... Prosecution to Review Execution Suspension Today

Jeong Gyeong-sim, a professor at Dongyang University and wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges of entrance exam fraud and private equity fund suspicions, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held on the 23rd at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The decision on whether to grant temporary release to former Dongyang University professor Jeong Gyeong-shim, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for charges including admission bribery involving her children and violations of the Capital Markets Act related to private equity funds, will be made on the 18th.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will hold a review committee meeting at 2 p.m. on the same day, chaired by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ki-dong, to examine Jeong’s application for suspension of sentence execution. The review committee will consist of seven members: three internal prosecutors and four external members from academia, the legal profession, and the medical field.

Earlier, on the 1st, Jeong’s legal team applied to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for suspension of sentence execution, citing the need for prompt surgery due to a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, and lower limb paralysis. According to legal sources, she suffered multiple falls inside the detention center around June and July. On the 22nd of last month, after the trial concluded, medical staff recommended urgent surgery after diagnosing a ruptured disc.

Under our Criminal Procedure Act, the execution of a sentence may be suspended if the convicted person’s health is significantly endangered or life cannot be preserved due to the execution of the sentence; if the person is aged 70 or older; if they are more than six months pregnant; if less than 60 days have passed since childbirth; if a direct ascendant is aged 70 or older or seriously ill or disabled with no other relatives to provide care; if a direct descendant is a minor with no other relatives to provide care; or if there are other serious reasons.

If Jeong’s sentence is suspended on this day, she will be released after 603 days since her first trial sentencing and court detention on December 1, 2020. Jeong was sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court in January for false credentials related to her daughter Jo Min and charges related to private equity funds. She is also undergoing a first trial at the Seoul Central District Court alongside her husband, former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, for charges including falsifying their son’s school records and obtaining a false internship certificate.

Meanwhile, former Minister Cho partially won a lawsuit against a media company and its affiliated reporters in the first trial, claiming false reporting related to Jeong’s private equity fund investment allegations. The Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 14 (Presiding Judge Seo Bo-min) ruled partially in favor of Cho in the correction and damages claim lawsuit filed against Segye Ilbo and two of its reporters.

The court ordered Segye Ilbo to post a correction notice on its homepage’s main page with a headline of the same size as a regular article for 24 hours within seven days of the ruling’s finalization, and to ensure the corrected article is searchable together with the notice. The two reporters were ordered to jointly pay 5 million won each, totaling 10 million won, in damages to Cho and Jeong.

Previously, in September 2019, Segye Ilbo reported that Jeong had instructed private equity fund operators to flee overseas, and the Cho couple filed a lawsuit the following year demanding a correction and 100 million won in damages, stating the report was "completely false."