South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted former minister of justice Cho Kuk on a dozen charges, including bribery, two months after he resigned over a scandal involving family investment and university admissions for his children.
The accusations are a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in after the liberal leader named Cho, a former top aide, to the Cabinet post to lead reform of the prosecutors’ office, which critics saw as being susceptible to political pressure.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Cho and his wife over family investment and use of their position to gain admissions for their children, it said in a statement.
Photo: AP
Cho faces a dozen charges, ranging from bribery and document fraud to manipulation of evidence and breaches of public service ethics law, it added.
Together with his wife, Chung Kyung-shim, he is being prosecuted for falsifying documents regarding family investments and efforts to gain university admissions.
Cho is to remain free as he stands trial. ‘
Chung, a university professor, was arrested in October on the same charges.
Cho’s lawyer, Kim Chil-joon, did not immediately respond to telephone calls or a text message seeking comment.
Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying the prosecutors had handed down “a political indictment based on their imagination and fiction.”
Moon’s office called the investigation result “meager” and said it would deepen people’s distrust of prosecutors.
“The investigation shook the president’s authority,” his press secretary Yoon Do-han said. “The result raised questions about the intent of the investigation.”
Cho’s resignation and indictment were a spectacular downfall for the former star legal academic known for progressive thinking who was one of Moon’s closest political allies and viewed by some as a potential presidential successor.
Moon came to power in 2017, promising to clean up corruption after weeks of large street protests led to the impeachment of his predecessor, Park Geun-hye.
Cho stepped down in October after just one month in office, saying the graft scandal had become a political burden for Moon’s government.
His appointment was followed by street protests for and against the president on a scale not seen since 2017, hitting Moon’s public support ratings.
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