The prosecution appealed the first-instance ruling that acquitted former Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyun, who was tried on the so-called 'blacklist suspicion' of forcing heads of public institutions appointed during previous administrations to resign during the Moon Jae-in government.
On the 31st, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had filed an appeal against the first-instance ruling of former Minister Cho, citing factual errors and misinterpretation of the law as reasons for the appeal.
Former Minister Cho was indicted on charges of urging the resignation of former Chairman Son of the Foundation for North Korean Refugees, an agency under the Ministry of Unification, through then Vice Minister Cheon Hae-sung in July 2017, early in the Moon administration. However, on the 24th, the court acquitted former Minister Cho, stating that it was not clear that he instructed former Chairman Son to submit a resignation letter or that he instructed Vice Minister Cheon and others to do so.
The prosecution stated, "There is no reason for the Vice Minister and Director General of the Ministry of Unification to demand resignation without instructions from the superior defendant," and "Above all, it is difficult to accept the acquittal when objective evidence confirms that the defendant directly called the chairman after receiving a report from the responsible director on 'countermeasures if the chairman refuses early resignation.'"
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