Former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk's daughter, Cho Min (33), has been sentenced to a fine of 10 million won in her second trial for 'college admission fraud.' This is the same result as the first trial.
On the 23rd, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeal Division 2-3 (Director General Cho Eun-a, Kwak Jung-han, Kang Hee-seok) said, 'The sentencing of the first trial does not exceed the reasonable scope of discretion,' and dismissed both the prosecution and the defense's appeals.
Cho was indicted without detention in January 2023 for submitting false admissions documents, including an application form and self-introduction letter, along with a forged commendation from the president of Tongyang University, to the Seoul National University and Busan National University School of Medicine admissions office, thereby obstructing the admissions process.
The first trial court sentenced Cho to a fine of 10 million won in March of last year. At that time, the court explained the rationale for sentencing by stating, 'She did not directly participate in the specific issuance process of the fraudulent documents or the forgery of the commendation, and she acknowledged all her crimes and withdrew her lawsuit against the cancellation of her admissions to Busan National University and Korea University.'
That day, Cho appeared in court wearing a black dress and a white mask covering her face. After the trial, when reporters asked Cho, 'What do you think about the verdict today?' and 'Do you have plans to appeal?', she did not respond.
During the trial process, Cho claimed that the prosecution abused its power in this case and requested a suspension of the verdict. Her side argued, 'The prosecution filed charges long after 11 years following the crime,' and noted, 'There was no additional investigation at all until 15 days before the statute of limitations expired.'