South Korea's top court upholds 2-year sentence for prominent opposition leader

Cho has been at the forefront of efforts to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol within the wake of his rapid-lived imposition of martial law most moving week, which plunged democratic South Korea into political chaos

AFP/BSS

12 December, 2024, 01:35 pm

Final modified: 12 December, 2024, 01:39 pm

South Korea’s Supreme Court this present day (12 December) upheld a two-year jail sentence for prominent opposition chief Cho Kuk for forging academic documents to stable his kid’s admission to prestigious faculties.

Cho has been at the forefront of efforts to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol within the wake of his rapid-lived imposition of martial law most moving week, which plunged democratic South Korea into political chaos.

“The Supreme Court finds the bills of obstruction of enterprise, and public and deepest epic forgery… in opposition to the defendant to be staunch,” the country’s highest courtroom acknowledged in a assertion, upholding a lower courtroom’s ruling.

Cho, formerly a high-profile academic and an aide to ex-president Moon Jae-in, turn out to be as soon as as soon as regarded as a rising political indispensable person and a doable candidate to succeed his boss.

He turn out to be as soon as appointed to steer the worthy justice ministry in 2019.

Nonetheless he turn out to be as soon as quickly after embroiled in a scandal over his kid’s schooling, accused of forging academic documents for his son and daughter to present them an earnings in college and graduate college admissions.

Seoul’s Central District Court sentenced him to 2 years in 2023, announcing: “the persona of his crimes is grave, as he exploited his place as a college professor to obstruct admissions processes over decades”.

Cho’s liberal Rebuilding Korea event won 12 seats on this year’s parliamentary elections on an anti-Yoon platform.

Thursday’s verdict will glimpse Cho, long seen as a that you just’ll likely be in a spot to have faith of candidate for president, lose his parliamentary seat.

He is anticipated to epic to a correctional facility to delivery his sentence.

Native media reported that prosecutors have demanded he post as early as Friday.