Seoul National University dismisses former justice minister

By Ko Dong-hwan

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk / Korea Times file

Cho Kuk, a former justice minister, was dismissed on Tuesday by the disciplinary committee from the Seoul National University where he had taught students since 2009.

The move to evict the school's former law professor came three years and five months after he was indicted on a dozen charges, including fabricating various documents to help his two children gain admission to universities and graduate schools.

The decision by the committee now remains to be finalized by the school's President Ryu Hong-lim within 15 days. The dismissal of Cho from the school was considered by the school's previous president who delayed it until last July, saying the fact that prosecutors indicted him was not enough to warrant his dismissal.

Cho was indicted without arrest in December 2019 when he was serving in the ministry. The following January, Seoul National University School of Law ended his professorship. According to the school's regulations, a school president can request the penalization committee to dismiss a faculty member for engaging in illegal activity.

Last February, Cho was sentenced to two years in prison for illegally assisting his daughter's entrance to Pusan National University School of Medicine and accepting a bribe of 6 million won ($4,700).

Cho's legal representatives, shortly after the disciplinary committee's decision came out and expressed bitterness over the school's “excessive punishment against Cho which was made in haste.”

The academic fraud involving Cho's family ended up sharply dividing the nation, prompting massive rallies both in support of and against his nomination as a justice minister.

Cho, considered then one of the closest confidants of former President Moon Jae-in, left office just 35 days after his appointment.