According to Yonhap news agency, on February 3, the Seoul Central District Court judge two years prison once morest former Justice Minister Cho Kuk for taking advantage of his personal influence to benefit his loved ones, including influencing his children to be admitted to university.
Previously, in 2019, Mr. Cho Kuk was indicted on dozens of charges, including forging various documents to help his two children get admission to universities, including medical school.
The former minister was also accused of accepting a bribe of 6 million won ($4,900) in the form of a scholarship for his daughter, who was then studying at a medical school in the southeastern city of Busan. Korea.
He is also indicted for abusing the powers of Assistant to the President to end an investigation into bribery allegations involving a former Vice Mayor of Busan.
[Tổng thống Hàn Quốc xin lỗi vì vụ việc của cựu Bộ trưởng Tư pháp]
In the ruling on February 3, the court sentenced most of the above crimes and ordered the confiscation of 6 million won. However, the court did not order the immediate detention of the former minister, who served under President Moon Jae-in’s administration.
In the same ruling, the court also sentenced defendant Chung Kyung-sim to one year in prison, the wife of former Minister Cho, on the charge of complicity in education-related crimes. Defendant Chung served four years in prison for falsifying her daughter’s school records to gain admission, as well as forging documents for her son.
Mr. Cho is a famous law professor at Seoul National University. He served as the president’s senior secretary for civil affairs from 2017-2019. He was appointed justice minister in September 2019 before resigning regarding a month later because of the scandal.
Minh Tam (VNA/Vietnam+)