Thursday, December 12, 2024 - South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday, December 12, upheld a two-year jail sentence for Cho Kuk, a prominent opposition leader, for forging academic documents to secure his children’s admission to prestigious schools.
“The Supreme Court finds the charges of obstruction of
public and private document forgery… against the defendant to be valid,” the
country’s highest court said in a statement, affirming a lower court’s ruling.
Cho, a former academic and aide to ex-president Moon Jae-in,
was once seen as a rising political star and potential presidential candidate.
He served as justice minister in 2019 but soon became embroiled in a scandal
involving allegations of forging documents to benefit his son and daughter in
college and graduate school admissions.
Seoul’s Central District Court sentenced Cho to two years in
prison in 2023, stating: “The nature of his crimes is grave, as he exploited
his position as a college professor to obstruct admissions processes over many
years.”
Cho’s liberal Rebuilding Korea party, which won 12 seats in
this year’s parliamentary elections on an anti-Yoon platform, has been a vocal
critic of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The opposition leader has played a key role
in efforts to impeach Yoon following his controversial imposition of martial
law last week, which plunged the country into political turmoil.
Thursday’s ruling will result in Cho losing his
parliamentary seat. He is expected to report to a correctional facility to
begin his sentence, with local media reporting that prosecutors have requested
he submit as early as Friday, December 13.
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