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| Justice Minister Cho Kuk leaves his home for work in southern Seoul, Monday, before the prosecution raided the house for evidence. / Yonhap |
By Lee Suh-yoon
The prosecution raided Justice Minister Cho Kuk's home in southern Seoul, Monday, in connection to widening allegations that he and his wife peddled their influence to secure internships and dishonest "qualifications" for their children to boost their college or graduate school applications.
This is the first time that the residence of an incumbent justice minister, who supervises the prosecution ― in personnel and administration ― has been searched by prosecutors.
Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office seized computer hard disks and other materials from Cho's house in Bangbae-dong, shortly after he left for work Monday morning.
Their target was a hard disk, amid allegation that Cho's wife, Dongyang University professor Chung Kyung-sim, had attempted to destroy evidence. Chung allegedly asked a securities company worker, who helped in the "wealth management" of the family, to swap out the hard disks of the family's home computer. The worker told prosecutors that when he was changing the disks at the house, he met Cho who thanked him for helping his wife. The prosecution has already received two of the disks from the worker.
The computer disks are thought to contain information related to the allegations that Cho and his wife fabricated internship certificates for their daughter and son.
On a previously-obtained hard drive, the prosecution apparently found digital copies of internship certificates from Seoul National University (SNU) Center for Public Interests and Human Rights Law issued to Cho's daughter and her high school classmate.
The classmate's father is Prof. Chang Young-pyo of Dankook University. Cho's daughter was named the lead author in a pathology research paper at Chang's lab when she was just a high school student on a a two-week internship. The paper, which was later published in the Korean Journal of Pathology, boosted her college application and got her a spot at Korea University. She now attends a medical school in Busan.
SNU officials have so far claimed they don't recall issuing such documents. Chang's son also testified he received a two-week internship certificate via Cho's daughter although he only participated in a one-day seminar at SNU, leading the prosecution to suspect Cho's daughters' certificate is also exaggerated and perhaps forged.
Cho's son, a political science graduate student at Yonsei, is also alleged to have received a similar internship certificate from the center in 2017. The prosecution raided the Aju University Law School admissions office Monday to check if Cho's son included the certificate in his application after graduating from George Washington University.
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| Officials from the prosecution enter the apartment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk's family in southern Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho |
Cho denied the allegations to the press on his way to work.
"The media reports that I forged the SNU center internship certificates are extremely malicious," he said. "I will seriously consider taking legal action now."
Prosecutors plan to question Cho's wife soon over the alleged internship certificate fabrication as well as a Dongyang University volunteer award issued to her daughter, which was used in her medical school application.
So far, she has been refusing the prosecution's summons for questioning, citing mental health treatment, after the flood of media reports about the family. If she continues to refuse questioning, the prosecution may seek a detention warrant.
Regarding the raid, the opposition parties said the prosecution is nearing a direct link between Cho and criminal offenses.
"The prosecution is conducting its investigation according to principles," main opposition Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn said.
Minor opposition Bareunmirae Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu urged President Moon Jae-in to sack Cho. "Now it is time for the President to make a decision. The prosecution raided the minister's home. How can the minister supervise the prosecution and maintain justice?" he said.
On the other hand, ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Hae-chan criticized the raid, pointing out that the prosecution's month-long investigation has yet to clearly link the justice minister to any wrongdoing.
"I hope this investigation is one that uncovers the truth rather than being an example of all-out resistance against reform of the prosecution's powers," Lee said during a party meeting.
