Parole Review Board of 9 Members Unanimously Decides 'Eligible'
Choi Eun-soon, the mother-in-law of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was sentenced to one year in prison for forging a bank balance certificate, has been deemed eligible for parole.
The Ministry of Justice Parole Review Committee made this decision on the 8th after reviewing the parole eligibility of 1,140 inmates. Among them, 650 inmates who were deemed eligible in this review will be released from 55 correctional facilities nationwide at 11 a.m. on the 14th of this month, following the final approval of the Minister of Justice. Currently, Choi is incarcerated at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center.
It was reported that Choi maintained her stance before the parole review, stating that she did not want to be the subject of controversy or cause public concern.
However, the review committee unanimously decided Choi was eligible after comprehensively considering factors such as age, sentence length, correctional performance, health condition, and risk of recidivism.
The review committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Justice, consists of between five and nine members, including the chairperson. Members are appointed or commissioned by the Minister of Justice from among judges, prosecutors, lawyers, Ministry of Justice officials, and correctional experts.
Currently, the committee is composed of four internal members: Deputy Minister of Justice Shim Woo-jung, Prosecutor General Kwon Soon-jung, Director of the Correction Headquarters Shin Yong-hae, and Director of Crime Prevention Policy Yoon Woong-jang; and five external members: Professor Joo Hyun-kyung of Chungnam National University Law School, Lawyer Kim Yong-jin of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, Professor Cho Yoon-oh of Dongguk University Police and Judicial College, Chief Judge Kim Dae-woong of the Seoul High Court, and Professor Oh Kyung-sik of Gangneung-Wonju National University Department of Law.
Under current law, inmates who have served more than one-third of their sentence are eligible for parole. Choi, who has served 80% of her sentence, was included in the parole review. Her sentence is set to expire on July 20.
The committee initially ruled Choi ineligible for parole in February this year but deferred the decision at the regular parole review held last month. If deemed ineligible, an inmate is excluded from the next month's review, but a deferred decision automatically includes them in the following month's review.
Choi was indicted on charges of forging a bank balance certificate to make it appear that approximately 34.9 billion KRW was deposited in a savings bank in four installments from April 1 to October 11, 2013, during the purchase of land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province.
She is also accused of colluding with business partner Ahn to submit the forged bank balance certificate to the court during a lawsuit filed on August 7, 2013, demanding the return of the deposit related to the Dochon-dong land.
The first trial sentenced Choi to one year in prison but did not detain her in court. This was because she was released on bail during the appeal process of a separate case involving fraudulent receipt of nursing care benefits. Subsequently, the Supreme Court acquitted her of the nursing care benefits fraud charges.
On the other hand, the second trial court detained Choi, stating that "the right to defense was sufficiently guaranteed up to the appeal trial, and the nature of the crime is very serious." The Supreme Court upheld the second trial's ruling.
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