Prosecutors Deploy Central District Special Division to Intensify Investigation into 'Jo Guk Family'
Investigating Prosecutors Including Han Dong-hoon Demoted... Trials Also Repeatedly Delayed
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, accused of admission fraud involving his children, was found partially guilty in the first trial after more than three years of prosecution investigation and trial. Cho was sentenced to two years in prison but was not taken into custody in court.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-1 (Presiding Judge Ma Seong-young) sentenced former Minister Cho to two years in prison and ordered a fine of 6 million won on the 3rd for charges including forgery and use of false official documents and obstruction of business.
The prosecution's investigation into Cho Kuk's family began in August 2019. After former President Moon Jae-in nominated Cho as Minister of Justice that August, numerous allegations surrounding Cho's family were raised.
Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted on charges of admission fraud involving his children and covering up an inspection, is leaving the court after being sentenced to two years in prison at the first trial sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 3rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]
As allegations against Cho Kuk's family poured in, the prosecution deployed the Special Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to conduct large-scale raids and began examining the overall allegations. At that time, the ruling party fiercely criticized the prosecution, accusing it of defying the president's nomination authority.
The prosecution focused its efforts on admission fraud involving Cho's children and suspicions of private equity fund investments, while also investigating the Ungdong Academy operated by Cho's family.
Although the prosecution investigation was ongoing, former President Moon pushed forward with Cho's appointment, and the prosecution continued its investigation. Eventually, Cho voluntarily resigned 35 days after his appointment. As the prosecution indicted Cho, his wife Jeong Gyeong-sim, a former professor at Dongyang University, and other family members, the allegations surrounding Cho seemed to come to a close.
However, when former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, who succeeded Cho, demoted prosecutors involved in the Cho investigation, including Han Dong-hoon, then head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (now Minister of Justice), in January 2020, and transferred all prosecution leadership considered to be in the line of then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, it marked a new phase.
Minister Chu judged that the prosecution had effectively caused a 'prosecutorial rebellion' through the Cho investigation, pressured Prosecutor General Yoon, and advanced pro-government prosecutors to key positions. Prosecutors with pro-government leanings who rose to leadership at that time openly obstructed further investigations and trials by the Cho investigation team.
In early 2020, the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the prosecution's requests to avoid certain trial panels caused the trial to stall repeatedly. Cho's fifth cousin, indicted on embezzlement charges, received a final sentence of four years in prison and a 50 million won fine only in June 2021, and Cho's younger brother, tried for breach of trust and bribery, was sentenced to three years in prison in December of the same year. Former Professor Jeong's four-year prison sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court in January last year.
Former Minister Cho received his first trial verdict about three years and two months after the prosecution indicted him. Since Cho expressed his intention to appeal immediately after the first trial, it is expected to take some time before his sentence is finalized.
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