Jomin, First Trial on Admission Fraud "Admits Charges but Prosecutor's Indictment is Procedurally Invalid"

Cho Min, the daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, acknowledged the charges in her first trial on admission fraud allegations but argued that the prosecution by the prosecution is invalid.

Cho Min, daughter of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, is heading to the courtroom to attend a trial on charges including obstruction of official duties by deception and obstruction of business (admission fraud) held at the Seoul Central District Court on the 8th. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Cho's lawyer stated this during the first hearing of the case involving charges of false document use, obstruction of business, and obstruction of official duties by deception, presided over by Judge Lee Kyung-sun of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 16.

The lawyer said, "The prosecution only indicted her for the use of falsely prepared documents, and she admits to that charge," but also requested, "This indictment is procedurally invalid, and we ask for a dismissal of the charges." He added, "Cho applied to Seoul National University Medical School and Pusan National University Medical School in February 2013 and June 2014, respectively, but the indictment was made only last August. Cho neither fled nor underwent additional investigation, yet the prosecution did not promptly exercise its prosecutorial rights with lawful intent," he argued.

Originally, the statute of limitations for Cho's fraudulent application to Pusan National University Medical School was set to expire on June 10, 2021, but it was suspended for about 2 years and 2 months until January 27 of last year, when her accomplice, her mother Jeong Gyeong-sim, former Dongyang University professor, was indicted and found guilty on related charges.

The prosecution indicted Cho on August 10, about two weeks before the statute of limitations expired. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the suspension of the statute of limitations when an accomplice is indicted is intended to punish or conduct additional investigations if another accomplice who fled is discovered later, but Cho's lawyer claims this does not apply to her case.

When the court asked Cho if she agreed with her lawyer's opinion, she replied, "Yes, I do."

The prosecution countered, "For abuse of prosecution rights to apply, the prosecutor must exercise prosecutorial rights arbitrarily, but since there is no such case here, the lawyer's claim is unfounded."

The court decided to proceed with a simplified trial procedure to streamline evidence examination since Cho admits to all the charges themselves. The next hearing is scheduled for the 26th of next month.

Cho was brought to trial on charges of submitting a falsely prepared application form, self-introduction letter, and a forged Dongyang University president’s certificate to the admissions office of Pusan National University Medical School on June 10, 2014, thereby obstructing the admissions review process of the evaluators, along with former professor Jeong.

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