CHO KUK’S NEPHEW SENTENCED TO 4 PRISON

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Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's nephew charged with running a controversial private equity fund has been sentenced to four years in prison. It was the first court sentencing for Cho's family member. The court also handed down a ruling for the case in which the ex-minister and his wife were charged as accomplices.

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​Cho Beom-dong is the decision-maker of the private equity fund in which former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's family is alleged to have made shady investments in. That was the court's ruling after an eight-month-long trial. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Cho to four years in prion and a 50 million won fine. He was charged for embezzlement as per the Act on Specified Economic Crimes. Cho was found guilty of attempting to boost stock prices with false disclosures and embezzling corporate money by exaggerating construction expenses. He was convicted of appropriating 7.2 billion won in total. However, the court made clear that the illicit ties between Cho and the former justice minister's family were not proven. The court apparently hasn't accepted the prosecution's claim that Cho's crimes constituted a new type of collusion between government and business. A detailed ruling was handed down for the ex-minister's wife Chung Kyung-sim whohad been accused as an accomplice. The court believed that the financial transactions between Cho and Chung were loans rather than investments. Chung was not seen as an accomplice in the embezzlement case. She was accused of signing a fake consulting contract with Cho and stealing about 150 million won from the company coffers. The judge accepted her legal team's claim that she simply lent one billion won to Cho and received interest. The pair had also been charged for falsely reporting an exaggerated equity fund amount to the Financial Services Commission. But the court found them not guilty on all accounts, saying that Cho lacked intention. But on the charge of destroying fund-related evidence ahead of the prosecution's search and seizure, Cho was found guilty and Chung was considered an accomplice. However, the court added that whether the accomplice had an active role in the crime must be determined at the court where her right to defend herself is ensured.