This March 16, 2023, file photo shows Cho Min, daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The prosecution on Thursday indicted the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk on charges of university admission fraud.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office charged Cho Min with document forgery and obstruction of business for allegedly collaborating with her mother to submit falsified documents, including an admission form, a cover letter and a commendation letter, to Pusan National University (PNU)’s Graduate School of Medicine in June 2014.
She is also alleged to have conspired with her parents to submit fabricated documents to Seoul National University (SNU) College of Medicine in June 2013.
Cho Kuk resigned as justice minister in October 2019, just one month after his appointment, following allegations of academic fraud involving his children.
His wife, Chung Kyung-sim, is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for her involvement in document forgery related to their daughter’s admission to the Pusan medical school in Busan.
In February, a district court handed down a two-year prison sentence to Cho Kuk, who was found guilty on multiple charges, including his role in admission irregularities concerning his daughter and son.
The indictment of the daughter came as the statute of limitations for the admission irregularities at PNU was set to expire on Aug. 26.
The deadline for the SNU case has been temporarily suspended due to the ongoing appellate trial involving her father.
The prosecution suspects Cho Min was actively involved in the forgery of the commendation letter from the president of a university where her mother formerly taught.
“Based on the facts confirmed by the Supreme Court, Cho Min’s level of involvement does not appear to be minor. Rather, she seems to have played a proactive role beyond just being a beneficiary,” a prosecution official said.
The official was referring to the guilty verdict handed down by the highest court in the case of her mother.
The prosecution questioned Cho Min as a suspect on July 14.
Korea University in Seoul and PNU last year revoked her admissions citing allegedly false documents submitted.
Cho filed suits against her alma maters’ decisions but withdrew them in July.
A few days later, her younger brother, Cho Won, also said he will relinquish his master’s degree from Yonsei University Graduate School following years of controversy over admission irregularities involving a purportedly falsified internship certificate.
He also underwent written questioning by the prosecution last month.
(Yonhap)
