Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
'Cho's authority as minister could hinder investigation into wife'
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, right, announces plans to inspect 13 universities with high ratios of special admissions to check for possible violation in procedures, after a meeting between ruling Democratic Party of Korea members at the National Assembly, Wednesday. This follows alleged preferential treatment given to Justice Minister Cho Kuk's children in college and graduate school admissions. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
A state-run anti-corruption body has said it is improper for Cho Kuk to be working as justice minister while his wife is being investigated by the prosecution.
This backs the opposition parties' claim that Cho needs to step down from the post because his authority to oversee prosecutors could hinder the ongoing probe.
Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the minor opposition Barenmirae Party said, Thursday, the party recently asked the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) whether Cho performing his duty as head of a ministry that supervises the prosecution, was appropriate according to the relevant laws, while his wife, Dongyang University professor Chung Kyung-sim, has been indicted on various corruption allegations.
The ACRC responded that Cho's duty and the prosecution's probe into Chung “could be linked,” Rep. Lee said.
According to the relevant laws, a “link” means a situation where a public official is unlikely to perform his duty impartially as his or her personal connections, such as family relations or friendship, or financial interests were involved in the work.
The ACRC interpretation means the justice minister has the authority to direct and oversee the prosecutor-general in specific cases, and this could affect the investigation into his wife, according to the laws on government organizations, the prosecution and civil servants.
According to the law on the latter, when a civil servant has a personal connection with an individual related to their work, they need to report this to the head of the organization, so that they would be excluded from the work. In Cho's case, however, the minister needs to report this to himself, according to the law.
So the ACRC did not issue an encompassing decision about this, saying the ministry will have to review the matter and take appropriate measures.
Chung, an English professor at Dongyang University, was indicted on Sept. 6 for allegedly forging the school's presidential citation to help her daughter enroll in Pusan National University Medical School. She faces many other allegations such as an attempt to destroy relevant evidence and illegal private equity fund investments.
The prosecution is expected to summon Chung as a suspect in the coming days.
Cho's son was summoned and questioned for 16 hours Tuesday over false internship certificates which were allegedly used to apply to graduate schools.
Prosecutors also searched the minister's house Monday, making him the first incumbent justice minister to have their residence raided.
Meanwhile, the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said they would inspect 13 universities nationwide that have high percentages of special admissions and high numbers of students from special-purpose or autonomous high schools.
The move comes amid public outrage as Cho's case showed children of well-off, influential parents have better chances and preferential treatment in admissions thanks to their parents' influence and networks.
“The public have been condemning the special college admissions system for a decade, as they believe the process favors students from rich family backgrounds,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said after a meeting between government and party officials.
“The education ministry will drastically enhance the system so parents will not be able to utilize their connections and ability for the children's admission into university.”
The detailed changes will be announced in November.