Seoul [South Korea],February 4: Former South Korean Justice Minister Cho Kuk was sentenced today to two years in prison for using personal influence to gain academic favors for his children.
The Seoul Central District Court also convicted former Justice Minister Cho of interfering in the investigation of a corruption case by using his power as an assistant to the president, according to Yonhap News Agency. However, the court did not immediately imprison Mr. Cho.
Mr. Cho was indicted in 2019 on more than 10 counts, including forging various documents to help his two children get into several prestigious universities in South Korea, including medical school.
Mr. Cho is also accused of accepting a bribe of 6 million won (more than 114 million dong) in the form of a scholarship to his daughter, who is studying at a medical school in the southeastern city of Busan.
The Seoul Central District Court today ruled that Mr. Cho was guilty of most of the charges related to academic fraud and ordered the confiscation of 6 million won.
However, the court acquitted former Justice Minister Cho on several charges related to his family's questionable private equity investments. After the verdict, Mr. Cho thanked the court for acquitting him of those charges and said he would file an appeal.
Meanwhile, prosecutors, who have recommended a five-year prison sentence for former Justice Minister Cho, are also expected to appeal.
In the same ruling, the court also sentenced Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, to one year in prison as an accomplice in education violations. Ms. Chung is serving a four-year prison sentence for falsifying her daughter's certificates for admission and forging documents for her son.
The ruling comes nearly three years after the Cho scandal first surfaced, arguably the biggest setback for former President Moon Jae-in 's administration .
Mr. Cho, a prominent law professor at the famous Seoul National University, served as former President Moon's senior secretary for civil affairs from 2017-2019. He was appointed justice minister in September 2019 before resigning about a month later because of the scandal.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
