Tag: Cho Kuk

Cho Kuk’s Brother Refuses to Show Up to Arrest Warrant Hearing

| October 9, 2019

The embattled ROK Justice Minister’s brother pulled the oldest excuse in the book by claiming his back hurt:

Once prosecutors entirely finish their questioning of Chung, they’re expected to decide whether to file for a pretrial detention warrant like they did for Cho’s younger brother, who faces allegations of receiving hundreds of millions of won in bribes in exchange for offering jobs to teachers at a middle school operated by the Cho family. 

Cho’s brother was supposed to appear at a court in Seoul on Tuesday morning to attend his warrant hearing and offer self-defense oral testimony, but he chose not to show up, citing physical pain after a recent surgery on his lower spine. 

The court was expected to decide whether to detain him late Tuesday night after reviewing documents on his case. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but Cho’s brother is probably trying to drag this out as long as possible to allow his brother to have more time to gather the power and influence necessary to squash the investigation.

South Korean Left Holds Rally in Support of Justice Minister

| October 6, 2019

The South Korean left has responded to the massive rally against the allegedly corrupt ROK Justice Minister with a rally of their own:

Supporters of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and conservatives critical of liberal President Moon Jae-in hold a rally at the Gwanghwamun square in central Seoul on Oct. 3, 2019, calling for the ousting of Justice Minister Cho Kuk. (Yonhap)

Activists and citizens held a rally in southern Seoul on Saturday in support of Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his drive to reform the prosecution amid a probe into corruption allegations surrounding his family.

The candlelight vigil started at around 6 p.m. at an intersection near Seocho Station, where the prosecution’s office is located, for the third such weekly rally.

Participants chanted slogans — “Reform the Prosecution” and “Protect Cho Kuk” — as they condemned the prosecution’s widening probe into Cho’s family as an attempt to deter the minister from reforming the elite investigation agency.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Korean left is claiming 3 million people showed up which judging by this picture is widely inaccurate.

Investigators Raid ROK Justice Ministers House for Evidence of Corruption

| September 24, 2019

It seems to me that whatever evidence that would have existed would have been long removed from the house by now:

Investigators enter the residence of Justice Minister Cho Kuk in south Seoul on Sept. 23, 2019 as part of prosecutors’ probe into allegations of corruption involving his family. (Yonhap)

The prosecution raided the residence of Justice Minister Cho Kuk on Monday as part of a widening probe into corruption allegations involving his family, including suspected forgery by his wife.

State prosecutors are looking into allegations that Cho’s wife forged a college presidential citation to help her daughter enroll in a medical school. Cho’s wife was indicted on those charges early this month.

Investigators were sent to his house earlier in the day to collect computer hard drives and documents.

The prosecution is probing suspicions that his wife, a professor surnamed Chung, may have sought to destroy evidence linked to the alleged forgery and Cho may have aided and abetted such acts.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Prosecutors Find that Cho Kuk Lied During Confirmation Hearing About Daughter’s Academic Fraud

| September 20, 2019

Is anyone surprised that Cho Kuk lied about his daughter’s academic fraud:

Justice Minister Cho Kuk, right, makes a courtesy call on Lee Hae-chan, left, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s daughter did take credit for a controversial medical research paper in her application to Korea University in 2010, the JoongAng Ilbo reported Tuesday – which Cho himself denied in his confirmation hearing on Sept. 6.

The research paper from Dankook University’s Medical Science Research Institute credited Cho’s daughter as first author even though she was just a high school intern.

“During a raid of Korea University, the prosecution seized records concerning the 2010 admission process, including a list of materials that Cho’s daughter had submitted as a part of her application,” a university official told the JoongAng Ilbo.

Although the application itself and other submitted materials were discarded because the five-year mandatory archive period had passed, the list of materials she submitted remained, the official said.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but you would think the university’s his daughter applied to would find it odd that a high school student was the lead author of a medical research paper.

Cho Kuk’s Cousin Arrested as Part of Corruption Probe

| September 15, 2019

Prosecutors seem to be acting quick to get to the bottom of the corruption surrounding President Moon’s new Justice Minister, Cho Kuk:

Cho Kuk

Prosecutors on Saturday arrested a cousin of Justice Minister Cho Kuk at the center of corruption allegations surrounding Cho and his family’s investment in a private equity fund.

The cousin, also surnamed Cho, was arrested at Incheon International Airport earlier in the day on embezzlement charges, according to officials. 

After being transported to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the cousin is currently being interrogated, the officials said.

He is allegedly the de facto head of controversial private equity fund Co-Link PE. Co-Link invested 1.4 billion won ($1.17 million) in local company Wealth C&T, whose sales soared while Cho was serving as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. 

Co-Link is also alleged to have falsely reported to the financial regulator that it received 7.4 billion won from Cho’s family for investment, despite the pledged amount being 1.05 billion won. 

The arrest came as prosecutors are widening their probe into the corruption allegations surrounding the justice minister.

Despite the allegations, coupled with suspicions regarding his daughter’s education, Cho was sworn in as justice minister on Monday and said that he will not interfere with the ongoing probe. He ordered the prosecution to conduct the investigation in a fair and strict manner.

Yonhap

Cho says he won’t interfere in the investigation when he already has.