Judicial proceedings open for Cho's cousin

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's cousin is brought to a detention center after facing the prosecution's questioning at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, on Oct. 16. Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

The Seoul Central District Court, Friday, held judicial proceedings to look into corruption allegations against former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's relative Cho Beom-dong, a person of interest in the scandal that involves the Cho family's suspicious investment in a private equity fund (PEF).

It was held in preparation for a trial for the ex-minister's cousin, who is currently facing various charges including violation of the economic crime law. Cho Beom-dong has allegedly manipulated the stock price and embezzled the money of a company called Co-Link Private Equity. He did not appear at court as he was not required to do so.

This is the second time the court held judicial proceedings for Cho Kuk's relatives. A pre-trial hearing for Chung Kyung-sim, wife of the former justice minister, was held last week Friday over charges of forgery of a private document.

The cousin is said to be the de facto owner of Co-Link Private Equity and he has allegedly operated the company with nearly 1.4 million won invested by Cho's family under his name to avoid violation of the Public Service Ethics Act. The law does not allow government officials or their family member to make direct investments to pursue economic interest.

According to prosecutors, the former minister's family members including his wife and children invested in the Blue Core Value-Up 1 PEF, which was managed by Co-Link. Cho's brother-in-law had invested 5 million won in Co-Link Private Equity as well.

Blue Core Value-Up 1 invested into Wealth C&T's streetlamp switch-making business in August 2017 while Cho was serving at Cheong Wa Dae as a senior presidential secretary.

The year-on-year sales of Wealth C&T almost doubled in the same month when President Moon Jae-in talked about the government's plan for a smart street lighting system during a ministerial meeting, winning 117 contracts for the company from 47 provincial governments and state institutions.

The cousin is also accused of attempting to manipulate the stock price of a company called WFM, in which Co-Link invested money. Cho's relative took over WFM without capital and eventually embezzled 7.2 billion won. Among them, Chung has received 14 million won from WFM, which she claimed as a “consultancy fee.”

Chung was questioned on Friday morning over various scandals involving her husband.