Tag: Cho Kuk

The fact that Korean conservatives were able to mobilize so many people to protest against ROK Justice Minister Cho Kuk forced President Moon to have him resign:

 In an unexpected move, Justice Minister Cho Kuk offered to resign Monday amid an ongoing probe into corruption allegations involving his family.

“I judged I should not add a burden to the president and the government regarding my family affairs. I think the time has come for me to step down for the successful completion of prosecution reform,” he said in a statement.

“I was mere ‘kindling’ for reforming the prosecution. My role as ‘kindling’ has come to an end.”

President Moon Jae-in formally accepted Cho’s resignation offer, Cheong Wa Dae said. The president signed a related document at 5:38 p.m., Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung, said.

Yonhap

The fact that he resigned I think also may mean there must be some good evidence against him to substantiate the corruption charges. It will be interesting to see if prosecutors continue to go after Cho Kuk and his family on the corruption charges now that he has resigned.

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.

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

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.

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As we have expected last year, the current pro-NK jusapa govt is at the tipping point. These lawless Jucheist ppl are collapsing by their corruption cases. There are still a lot more to come. Cho Kuk is a breaking point of Moon govt. https://t.co/RUNak8yoS6

— bmk218 (@bmk218) September 23, 2019

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

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.

Hope the prosecutors investigating the case is aware of the sanctions due dilligence requirements. Will Cho Kuk say one of his favorite answers–"I didn't know?" Then he's likely admitting to the lack of due diligence. https://t.co/n9dCVscWSH

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) September 20, 2019

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

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.

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

Cho Kuk hires 14 lawyers to defend him/his family. Cho Kuk, the day after becoming the Justice Minister, uses his power to reduce the prosecution staff/resources investigating his various unethical/illegal activities. #AbuseOfPower
at a miminimum. https://t.co/B39lCqiJqv

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) September 14, 2019