Jeong Yura on Jo Min's Indictment: "Why Not Live Honestly... A Forger Became a Martyr"

After Jomin's Indictment on the 10th, Critical Posts Continue to Appear
"A Forgery Small-time Criminal Is Playing on Emotions"

Jung Yuri, the daughter of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), recently criticized former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his daughter Cho Min, who were recently indicted.

According to Jung's social media (SNS) on the 13th, she posted a series of critical comments about the father and daughter following the indictment of Cho Min on the 10th.

Jung Yura, daughter of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), who is imprisoned for the 'state manipulation' case, is giving a support speech at the independent candidate Kang Yong-seok's Gyeonggi Province governor campaign launch held on the afternoon of May 19 last year at Jidonggyo Bridge in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

She shared an article about Cho Min's indictment, writing, "Then why didn’t you just live honestly? Since Cho Kuk was the one who enjoyed the most when my life was falling apart, now I will be the one to enjoy it the most," and added, "If only he hadn’t written the 'Joman Daejanggyeong,' he wouldn’t have been ridiculed this much."

'Joman Daejanggyeong' refers to posts that Cho Kuk previously made on his SNS expressing opinions on political issues. After the 'Cho Kuk scandal,' these writings, which relate to himself or the Moon Jae-in administration, became subjects of satire, giving rise to this slang term.

Jung shared a post where Cho Kuk wrote, "I would rather be taken to Namsan or Namyeong-dong for torture like in the old days," and commented, "He helped his child take a proxy exam and forged a fake certificate, so what use is torture? The forgery criminal has become a martyr. He is playing the sympathy card," she wrote.

She also said, "Since there’s no chance of being tortured anyway, I see the psychology of trying to appear pitiful," and added, "He laughed happily when talking about the illegitimate child of the unmarried president (former President Park Geun-hye), but now that he is on trial for his own crimes, he demands to be taken away and tortured."

Earlier, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Trial Division 5 (Chief Kim Min-ah) indicted Cho Min on the 10th without detention on charges of falsifying official documents, obstruction of business, and obstruction of public officials by deception.

According to the prosecution, Cho Min is accused of conspiring with her mother, former Dongyang University professor Jung Kyung-shim, to submit falsified admission documents, including a false application form, self-introduction letter, and a forged Dongyang University president’s certificate of commendation, to the admission office of the Busan National University Medical School on June 10, 2014.

She is also accused of conspiring with her parents to submit falsified documents, including a false self-introduction letter, an internship confirmation letter signed by the head of the Public Interest and Human Rights Law Center at Seoul National University Law School, and a forged Dongyang University president’s certificate of commendation, to the Seoul National University Medical School on June 17, 2013.

Her mother, former professor Jung, has been sentenced to prison for related charges, and her father, former Minister Cho, is also on trial. It is somewhat unusual that their daughter Cho Min has also been indicted.

The prosecution appears to have judged that since Cho Min was an adult at the time and committed fraud during the graduate school admission process, she was not merely a passive beneficiary but an active conspirator.

Cho Min stated regarding her indictment, “If there are parts I am responsible for, I will humbly take responsibility,” and “I will attend the trial sincerely.”