A first trial sentence has been handed down for former Justice Minister Cho Kook.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and an additional fine of 6 million won, but he escaped court arrest.
His son's George Washington University substitute exam, fraudulent application to Korea University and Yonsei University graduate school, and his daughter's medical graduate school 'false specifications' were mostly guilty.
Regarding the private equity fund, the court judged to the effect that 'Jung Kyung-sim is recognized as guilty, but there is not enough evidence that former Minister Cho Kook was involved'.
In this trial, Yoo Jae-soo, former vice mayor of Busan City, who was first judged, was also found guilty of 'ignoring the inspection'.
why did it take so long?
His wife, Professor Kyung-Shim Chung, received a final judgment from the Supreme Court a long time ago and is serving a sentence.
In most cases, the charges overlap, but the reason for the speed difference is because of arrest and detention.
If you are arrested and put on trial, it must be completed within six months for each level.
However, there is no time limit for the accused.
In other words, the difference in her speed was as former Professor Kyung-Shim Jeong was arrested and her former Minister Cho Kuk was imprisoned.
In the legal world, even if a couple is an accomplice, if one is arrested, the other is treated as an accomplice.
This is because when both couples are confined to a detention center, their livelihood activities stop, and problems arise in life, such as raising children or raising children.
explain a bit more
Kyung-Shim Jeong and former Minister Cho have many charges overlapping, but there are also some other details.
The most important is the charge of 'dismissing the inspection'.
It is said that former Minister Cho stopped the inspection of former Busan City Vice Mayor Yoo Jae-soo after receiving a request from the political world at the time when he was the chief civil servant of the Blue House.
This was a case in which former Minister Cho abused the authority directly related to his work, so responsibility could not be avoided.
The judgment of the trial court is as follows.
At the time, Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo received a request from the political world to rescue him, and after reporting this to the chief of civil affairs Cho Kuk, he conspired and admitted that the special inspection team had dismissed the ongoing inspection.
In the case of corruption in the entrance examination of children and private equity funds, suspicions were raised that his wife, Kyung-Shim Jeong, was leading and that former Minister Cho Kook was partly involved, but the Blue House's inspection was carried out by former Minister Cho, regardless of Kyung-Shim Jeong, and he must be held accountable. It's a matter of doing.
one more step
Former Minister Cho Kook came out of the courtroom after the first trial sentence and told reporters his thoughts.
He said, "He acquitted himself of nine charges and thanked the judge for this. We will appeal the guilty charges and fight them again in good faith."
He emphasized his innocence on 9 charges, but looking at the verdict, he was found guilty of most of the charges of 'corruption in the entrance exam', the charge of abuse of power that caused the inspection to be dismissed, and the violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, in which his daughter received a scholarship to Pusan National University.
Because of this, the court sentenced him to two years in prison, not probation.
The acquittal is that in the case of 'private equity fund', the guilt is acknowledged by Kyung-Shim Jeong, but the extent of former Minister Cho Kook's involvement has not been sufficiently proven.
As a high-ranking public official who said, 'My wife is guilty, but I am proud', and as a person who was politically influential enough to be mentioned as the next presidential candidate at the time, he did not seem to think much about the social divisions he had brought.
what you need to know
As I listened to former Minister Cho's remarks after the sentencing, September 2, 2019 came to mind.
Former Minister Cho, who was a candidate for the Minister of Justice, called reporters to the National Assembly to hold an 'unlimited meeting' about the pouring suspicions.
There, former Minister Cho refuted the questions of dozens of reporters one by one for 11 hours with an upright and dignified appearance.
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