I wonder if there has ever been a political party formed with its main goal of revenge against a sitting President’s wife?:
Cho Kuk, the leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, which caused a sensation in the April 10 general elections, has continued his “half-yoon” (half-yoon Seok-yeol) stance every day.
On the 15th, CEO Cho said on his social networking service (SNS), “Tensions are rising in the president’s office and within the prosecution over the position of the next Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office,” adding, “Tensions and dark battles are unfolding between high-level prosecutors in Yoon Line.” Loyalty to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his position on handling allegations related to Geom Gun-hee are the key criteria for selection.
“President Yoon is looking for someone who will act as a brazen shield for himself and his spouse, who are destined to become a ‘dead-duck’ soon, and wield a more ruthless sword against his political opponent,” he said. “President Yoon’s interest in running state affairs, which is close to zero, is now all about himself and his spouse.”
On the 11th, Chairman Cho Kuk and proportional winners of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party held a press conference in front of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, and said, “I warn the prosecution for the last time. He also shouted, “Investigate Kim Gun-hee.”
On this day, he voiced his strong voice, saying, “I will propose the Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act at the 22nd National Assembly.”
Maeil Kyeongchae
You can read more at the link, but ROK heads may remembe that when Cho was the Justice Minister for former President Moon, the then Chief Prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol indicted Cho’s wife. Cho’s wife was later convicted for document forgery in an effort to get their daughter into medical school. She was sentenced to four years in prison before getting paroled after about 1.5 years in jail. Their daughter would have to later give up her medical degrees as well.
So now Cho Kuk is back with his own political party that performed well in last week’s parlimentary elections. He is using his new political power to go after President Yoon’s wife over the dubious handbag scandal and try and put her in jail.
It looks like Cho Kuk has made his revenge politically against President Yoon for previously prosecuting him and his family for corruption:
One notable winner from the election is former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, the leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP), a major third party that is projected to win twelve seats. He was previously forced to resign as justice minister and sentenced to two years in detention (he has yet to go to prison) over a scandal involving allegations of him falsifying records. He returned to politics under his newly formed party just a month before this election.
The RKP gained support largely from middle-aged, progressive Koreans who strongly oppose the PPP but are also fed up with the ineffectualness and unceasing corruption scandals within the DP. Cho has set himself up to be an important kingmaker in the National Assembly and will most likely cooperate with the DP to obstruct Yoon’s agenda. He opposes Yoon not on ideological grounds but also bears a personal grudge against Yoon for prosecuting him on corruption charges. In addition, Cho had promised to investigate First Lady Kim Keon-hee for alleged stock manipulation if DP and his party won enough seats.
Council on Foregin Relations
You can read more at the link, but those his party was only formed a few weeks ago it looks like he could win up to 15 seats in the parliament making him a potential king maker for the Democratic Party who is in the majority.
I almost feel bad for Cho Kuk, his life crashed after trying to carry out former President Moon’s orders when he was his Justice Minister:
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, currently under trial on academic fraud charges connected to his daughter and son, said Monday he respects his children’s decision to renounce controversial academic degrees.
Cho, a former Seoul National University professor who served as a justice minister under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, made the remark as he appeared for a hearing at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul.
An appeal trial is currently under way after Cho was given a two-year prison term on charges connected to his children’s admission to a medical school and a graduate school.
Last week, Cho Min, the ex-minister’s daughter, dropped her lawsuits filed to reverse decisions by Korea University and Pusan National University’s Graduate School of Medicine to revoke her admissions, saying she will “go back to the starting point and start again with a clean slate.”
The ex-minister’s son also announced through a lawyer a decision to relinquish his master’s degree in political science from Yonsei University Graduate School last week.
“As a father, my heart ached but I decided to respect their decisions to begin anew from the starting point,” the ex-minister said.
“Since a guilty sentence was finalized for professor Chung Kyung-sim at the Supreme Court, she herself and the family humbly accepted it and are reflecting on themselves,” Cho said, referring to his wife who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence on academic fraud and other charges.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but if Cho Kuk had never accepted the Justice Minister position and had not tried to limit the power of prosecutors none of the academic fraud stuff would have come to light. It was used to take him out and it worked.
If there is anyone that regrets working for the prior Moon administration it has to be Cho Kuk because he has lost a lot to include his university position now:
Seoul National University’s disciplinary committee decided Tuesday to fire former Justice Minister Cho Kuk as law professor after a court sentenced him to a two-year prison term on charges of using his influence to get academic favors for his children, including university admissions.
In February, the Seoul Central District Court gave the prison term to Cho, who served under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, on charges of business obstruction, bribery and abuse of power.
Cho was indicted in December 2019 and the next month the university relieved him of his duties at its law school.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It is amazing how far the Cho Kuk family has fallen for something likely many other Korean politicians and other in positions of power are guilty of as well:
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his daughter Cho Min have been facing criticism over their unrepentant attitude toward the high-profile corruption scandal involving their family.
According to legal sources, Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court reprimanded Cho Kuk while sentencing him to two years in prison last Friday, saying he has never reflected on his wrongdoings.
The former minister, who was indicted in 2019, was found guilty of multiple charges, including using his influence to help his two children gain entry into universities and graduate schools. The court, however, did not immediately incarcerate him, citing escape was not a concern.
“Cho Kuk has continued to argue against objective evidence even after he stood before this court,” the court said in its ruling. “He has continued to turn a blind eye to his wrongdoings and never reflected on them. Consequently, imposing harsh penalties on him is unavoidable.”
The court said the corruption involving his children’s school admission was contrary to social expectations and obligation as a renowned professor, and that it damaged justice in the country’s school admissions system.
Cho Kuk was an outspoken liberal law professor at Seoul National University until he served under the previous Moon Jae-in administration.
On the same day, the court gave another year in prison to the former minister’s wife Chung Kyung-sim ― who is already serving a four-year sentence for academic fraud ― on related charges.
Despite their parents’ conviction, Cho Min said she did not feel ashamed of herself at all, during an interview with left-leaning broadcaster Kim Ou-joon.The interview, filmed Friday, the day her father was convicted, was aired on Monday through Kim’s YouTube channel. It marked the first time that Cho Min had shown her face since the corruption scandal involving the family made headlines in 2019.
Korea Times
“Prosecutors, media and political circles were so harsh to my family for the past four years,” Cho Min said.
The younger Cho passed the state exam to become a doctor and graduated from the medical school of Pusan National University (PNU) located in the southern port city of Busan in 2021.
But the medical school decided to revoke her admission in the same year following her mother’s conviction over forging her daughter’s academic records to gain entry to the school.
Cho Min has filed a lawsuit, requesting the court to cancel this decision, with trials still underway.
You can read more at the link, but I can under why the daughter is unrepentant because she has a lot to lose if she doesn’t win her court case by not becoming a doctor.
This is part of the reason why the Moon administration has been going after Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl because he had his prosecutors investigate this corruption:
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s wife was sentenced by a Seoul court on Wednesday to imprisonment of four years for academic fraud.
Korea Times
The Seoul Central District Court handed down the jail sentence, together with a fine of 500 million won (US$451,000), to Chung Kyung-sim, the wife of the former presidential secretary for civil affairs and a close aide to President Moon Jae-in.
The court also ordered the immediate imprisonment of Chung.
Chung was indicted in November last year on 15 counts of charges related to her daughter’s college admission and her dubious investment in a private equity fund (PEF).
Chung is accused of being involved in fabricating documentation from 2013-2014, including a college presidential citation, in order to get her daughter admitted to medical school.
You can read more at the link, but I doubt that she will do four years in jail. She will get her sentenced reduced probably on appeal as things tend to happen. Her husband Cho Kuk is still under investigation for his role in these corrupt dealings.
Considering all the scandals surrounding Cho Kuk it makes you wonder why Seoul National University wanted him back in the first place:
Cho Kuk, former justice minister indicted over an ex-vice mayor’s bribery case, was suspended from duty as a professor at Seoul National University (SNU) on Wednesday, officials said.
The university said it has decided to impose an administrative action against Cho, who resumed his job as professor of the SNU law school in October 2019 after stepping down from the justice minister post following a scandal involving his family.
“As of Wednesday, we decided to relieve him of his duty on the judgment that it would be difficult (for Cho) to normally carry out his job,” the university said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
