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The first trial court sentenced former Attorney General Cho Kook to two years in prison.
The judge found him guilty of most of the corruption in his child's entrance exam, his time as chief civil servant at the Blue House, and the charges of ignoring the inspection.
This is Reporter Kang Chung-wan.
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Section 21-1 of the Criminal Agreement of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced former Minister of Justice Cho Kook to two years in prison and a fine of 6 million won.
After being nominated as a candidate for the Minister of Justice in August 2019, various suspicions arose and the prosecution investigation began, and in December of that year, it has been more than three years since it was handed over to trial.
The court found most of Cho's children's irregularities in the entrance exam and Yoo Jae-soo, former vice mayor of Busan City, guilty of evading the Blue House inspection.
Regarding irregularities in the entrance examination of his children, he was found guilty of filling out a false internship certificate and taking his son's George Washington University online exam instead.
He was also found guilty of conspiring with then-Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo to stop the Blue House Special Investigation Team's inspection of former Vice Mayor Yoo Jae-soo.
The fact that he received 6 million won from the director of Busan Medical Center Noh Hwan-jung in the name of his daughter's scholarship was not related to his job, so it was not a bribe, but it was judged that it was a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
However, former Minister Cho was acquitted of the charge of not selling or entrusting stocks at the time of senior secretary for civil affairs.
The judge ruled that "the crime of corruption in the entrance examination of children was repeatedly committed for several years using the position of a university professor, and the crime was of poor quality and seriously damaged social trust in the fairness of the entrance examination system."
He also pointed out that he had abandoned his responsibilities as the chief civil servant regarding the inspection.
However, the court did not arrest former Minister Cho, saying that there was no fear of destroying evidence or escaping.
[Former Minister of Justice Cho
Kook: Today, I will humbly accept the verdict of the trial in the first trial, and I will more faithfully and honestly appeal in the second trial to be acquitted of the remaining guilty parts.]
Regarding the suspicion of the fund, he expressed his thoughts, saying that he was not even prosecuted.
(Video coverage: Seol Min-hwan, video editing: Park Jeong-sam)