The prosecution, which has been investigating allegations of graduate school admissions fraud involving Cho Won, the son of former Cho Kuk Innovation Party leader Cho Kuk, has decided to suspend indictment.
According to legal sources on May 8, the Public Trial Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Jeong Ilkwon, recently suspended indictment against Cho. Suspension of indictment means that while the facts of the alleged crime are acknowledged, the prosecutor has decided not to bring the case to trial after considering the circumstances and consequences of the offense.
Cho was accused of submitting falsified documents?including an internship certificate from the Seoul National University Public Interest and Human Rights Law Center, an internship certificate from a law firm under the name of former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kangwook, and a scholarship certificate from George Washington University?when applying to the integrated master's and doctoral program in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University for the first semester of 2018.
The prosecution is reported to have taken into account Cho's expressed intention to return his master's degree from Yonsei University, as well as Yonsei University's decision to revoke his admission. Cho Kuk, who was implicated as an accomplice, was indicted for admissions fraud involving his son and daughter, as well as for charges related to the Blue House inspection cover-up. In December of last year, the Supreme Court finalized a two-year prison sentence against him, and he is currently serving his sentence.
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