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| Investigators search an office of Kongju National University in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday, as part of the prosecution's investigation into allegations surrounding justice minister nominee Cho Kuk. Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
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| Cho Kuk |
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, investigators conducted searches at Busan Medical Center, and Seoul National (SNU), Korea, Dankook and Kongju National universities for evidence related to the allegations of preferential treatment given to Cho's daughter in her college admissions and receipt of scholarships.
The law enforcement agency also sent investigators to a private equity firm that Cho made a huge investment in amid suspicions that he tried to transfer his wealth to his children without paying taxes; as well as a private school foundation run by his mother.
Currently, 11 complaints have been filed with the prosecution regarding the scandal.
"As public concern has been raised over the allegations against Cho, we decided to conduct the raids to clarify the facts," a prosecutor said.
In response to the simultaneous raids, the nominee said he hopes the investigations will clear up the allegations.
"However, allegations that are not facts, should not disrupt the government's plan to reform the prosecution," he told reporters while entering an office in Seoul to prepare for his national Assembly confirmation hearing.
The simultaneous searches came as public anger toward Cho and his family members is escalating, with a majority of the people urging him to withdraw from the nomination.
In particular, allegations linked to her daughter's academic career are leading to the nominee losing support from young people as college admission is one of the most sensitive issues among young people and their parents here.
When his daughter was a high school student, she was listed as a lead author in an academic paper published in a renowned medical journal although she only took part in a two-week internship at the Medical Science Research Institute of Dankook University's College of Medicine.
It is believed the academic paper partially helped her get enrolled in Korea University in 2010 through a non-scheduled admission.
At Kongju National University in summer 2009, the daughter, as a high school student, participated in an internship program as well and went to an international seminar in Japan together with other researchers. But it is alleged that she had already been listed as one of the authors of a paper before the internship period started.
The incumbent chief of the Busan Medical Center provided Cho's daughter with a total of 12 million won ($9,895) in scholarships for six straight semesters from 2016 to 2018 when he served as the head of Pusan National University's (PNU) Yangsan Hospital ― although she flunked twice at PNU's medical school.
The SNU's graduate school of environmental studies was also searched as she was given scholarships worth 8 million won for one year before she moved to PNU medical school. Professors there and the school administration failed to explain how she was picked as a scholarship recipient.
Cho's hefty investment in a private equity fund is also raising speculation that he may have intended to evade gift taxes as a relative was involved in the operation of the fund.
The Ungdong Foundation, the private school run by Cho's mother, is also under fire over suspicions that it may have been used as a means to augment assets.
