Court rejects former justice minister's daughter's lawsuit

Cho Min, daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk [SONG BONG-GEUN]

A court Thursday rejected a lawsuit filed by the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, siding with a university in Busan that nullified her entrance to its medical school over academic fraud.

The decision, handed down by Busan District Court, was the latest development in the academic credentials scandal surrounding Cho Min, the 31-year-old daughter of embattled ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

Cho Kuk was a close confidante of former President Moon Jae-in, but resigned as justice minister after only 66 days in office when a flurry of corruption accusations rose against him and his family.

His daughter and son were also subject to public fury when it was revealed that he and his wife, a former English professor at Dongyang University in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang, pulled strings and fabricated certificates to help them get into prestigious universities.

The daughter was eventually accepted to Pusan National University in Busan and graduated. She passed her medical license test in 2021.

Last year, however, the university announced that it chose to revoke her admission due to her fabricated credentials.

Cho Min filed a lawsuit seeking to cancel the school’s decision, but Busan District Court on Thursday turned down the claim, saying that “public trust in fair college admissions and the ethical awareness required of doctors are far more important than the disadvantages" that the plaintiff would receive from the cancellation of admission.

Cho Min’s lawyers told local reporters Thursday afternoon that they would “immediately appeal” the court's decision and continue fighting the case.

In a statement, Pusan National University said it respected the judiciary’s decision.

In an Instagram post later uploaded to her account, Cho Min said she would continue her legal battle while serving society through volunteer work as long as her medical license was valid.

“Today is my father’s birthday,” she wrote. “My father, who had to give up everything he had, must be more heartbroken than me.”

BY LEE SUNG-EUN, KIM MIN-JU [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]