Loss of Proportional Representation Seat... Baek Seon-hee Succeeds
Prosecutors "Proceeding with Sentence Execution Procedures According to Relevant Regulations"
Notice of Appearance for Sentence Execution on the 13th
Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, who was prosecuted on charges including 'admission fraud involving his children' and 'cover-up of the Blue House inspection of former Busan Deputy Mayor Yoo Jae-soo,' has been sentenced to 2 years in prison with the sentence finalized. With the Supreme Court upholding the second trial verdict as is, Cho Kuk will be detained and lose his parliamentary seat. Additionally, his eligibility to run for office will be revoked for 5 years after serving the sentence, making it virtually impossible for him to run in the next presidential election.
On the 12th, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) dismissed both Cho Kuk's and the prosecution's appeals in the final trial on 12 charges including obstruction of business, violation of the Anti-Graft Act, abuse of authority, and obstruction of the exercise of rights, thereby confirming the original sentence of 2 years imprisonment. The original ruling sentencing Cho Kuk's wife, former Dongyang University professor Jung Kyung-shim, to 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation was also upheld.
The court stated, "There is no error affecting the judgment such as failure to conduct necessary hearings for the guilty verdict in the original trial, violation of the rules of logic and experience beyond the limits of free evaluation of evidence, misinterpretation of legal principles regarding evidence-based trial, presumption of innocence, exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, abuse of prosecution rights, prosecutor's duty of objectivity, principle of legality, joint criminal liability, establishment of each crime, omission of judgment, or insufficient reasoning," explaining the reason for dismissing the appeals.
Former leader of the Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to 2 years in prison by the Supreme Court on charges including 'admission fraud involving his children' and 'cover-up of Blue House inspection,' is greeting lawmakers after finishing a press conference held at the National Assembly on the 12th.
With the 2-year prison sentence finalized by the Supreme Court on this day, Cho Kuk will lose his eligibility to run for office for the next 5 years and be stripped of his parliamentary seat according to the Public Official Election Act and the National Assembly Act. This also makes it virtually impossible for him to run in the next presidential election. The proportional representation seat is expected to be succeeded by Baek Sun-hee, former Policy Operations Committee member of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Commission, who is next in line on the Cho Kuk Innovation Party list.
Cho Kuk was indicted in December 2019 on charges including issuing false internship certificates for his children and fraudulent receipt of scholarships by his daughter Cho Min. He was additionally indicted in January of the following year on charges of covering up the special inspection team's investigation into former Deputy Mayor Yoo while serving as Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs at the Blue House.
The courts in the first and second trials sentenced Cho Kuk to 2 years in prison. The courts found him guilty of most charges related to his children's admission fraud and the cover-up of the special inspection team's investigation. They also ruled that the 6 million won scholarship received by his daughter from former Busan Medical Center director Noh Hwan-jung was not a bribe but violated the Anti-Graft Act.
However, he was acquitted of charges including bribery, instructing evidence forgery, instructing evidence concealment, violation of the Public Officials Ethics Act, and forgery and use of private documents. Although sentenced to imprisonment, the court did not order immediate detention, citing no risk of evidence destruction or flight.
Former leader of the Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to 2 years in prison by the Supreme Court on charges including 'admission fraud involving his children' and 'cover-up of Blue House inspection,' is bowing his head in greeting at a press conference held at the National Assembly on the 12th.
Earlier, Cho Kuk's side submitted a request to the Supreme Court on the 4th, immediately after the lifting of martial law, to postpone the sentencing date citing the emergency situation following President Yoon Seok-yeol's martial law declaration, but the request was denied.
Meanwhile, after the Supreme Court's guilty verdict was finalized, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced, "Based on the Criminal Procedure Act and related regulations, we plan to promptly execute the sentence following the usual procedures."
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is reportedly planning to notify Cho Kuk to appear by the 13th in accordance with relevant regulations once the Supreme Prosecutors' Office requests the execution of the sentence.
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