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Supreme Court has confirmed the trial sentence of four years in prison for Cho Beom-dong, the fifth-degree nephew of former Minister Cho, who is a key figure in the suspicion of private equity funds in the former Justice Minister Cho's family. This is the first time that the Supreme Court has made a decision among the Cho family cases.
Reporter Son Hyung-an reports.
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3rd part of the Supreme Court confirmed the lower court ruling that sentenced Cho Beom-dong, the fifth-degree nephew of former Minister Cho Kuk, to four years in prison, who was charged with embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
This is the first time that a Supreme Court decision has been made among the cases of the former Minister of Justice Cho's family currently under trial.
Cho is a key figure in the allegations related to the private equity fund of the former minister's family, and has been indicted on charges of taking over WFM, a KOSDAQ-listed company, and embezzling 7.2 billion won in company funds while actually operating Corlink PE, an asset management company.
Previously, the first and second trial courts sentenced Cho to four years in prison and a fine of 50 million won, stating that he was found guilty of violating the Capital Market Act in relation to mergers and acquisitions without capital and embezzling 7.2 billion won.
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, saying that there was no error in misunderstanding the legal principle in the judgment of the lower court.
However, the Supreme Court did not recognize the fact that Cho had conspired with Cho's wife, Professor Jeong Kyung-shim, on some charges of embezzlement.
It is true that Professor Jung invested in private equity funds, but he was citing the judgment of the first and second trial that it should be viewed as a loan rather than an investment.
Accordingly, the embezzlement charges that Professor Kyung-shim Jeong faces are highly likely to be acquitted in the appeals court.