‘Sewol Ferry Investigation Obstruction’ Cho Yoon-sun Sentenced to Suspended Prison Term in Retrial

Yoon Hak-bae, Former Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison with 2 Years Probation

Cho Yoon-sun, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, who was prosecuted for obstructing the activities of the Sewol Ferry Special Investigation Committee, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the retrial after remand.

Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Cho Yoon-sun. / Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judges Lee Won-beom, Han Ki-soo, Nam Woo-hyun) on the 9th sentenced Cho, who was charged with abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, to 6 months in prison with a 1-year suspension. Yoon Hak-bae, former Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, who was charged with the same offense, was sentenced to 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension.

The court stated, "Former Secretary Cho was likely fully aware of the political and legal issues related to the Special Investigation Committee's activities, yet he was involved in the crime by instructing Yoon and others to 'respond through the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.' We considered the fact that he had no prior criminal record in sentencing."

Cho and others were prosecuted on charges of instructing Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials to establish a comprehensive response system to preemptively block the Special Investigation Committee's activities, which were unfavorable to the Park Geun-hye administration and the ruling party (Saenuri Party) at the time in 2015.

The first trial sentenced Cho to 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension, and Yoon to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspension. However, the second trial acquitted Cho and reduced Yoon's sentence to 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.

However, the Supreme Court judged that there were more parts that should be deemed guilty for Cho and Yoon. Some public officials who received their instructions were required to maintain independence in their duties. The court ruled, "They had documents prepared outlining the progress and response plans, including a method to intervene in the activities of the preparatory committee through nominees for Special Investigation Committee members," and "This can be seen as violating principles and standards of duty performance."