Ex-justice minister’s wife sentenced to 4-year jail term

The wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk has been sentenced to four years in prison in the latest in an academic fraud scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the jail sentence to Chung Kyung-sim with a 500 million won fine, 140 million won forfeiture and also ordered her immediate imprisonment. 

Chung, a professor at Dongyang University, was indicted in November last year on 15 counts of fraud related to her daughter's college admission and dubious investments in a private equity fund. 

She has been found guilty on all counts of academic fraud while being partially convicted on charges related to violating capital market laws and evidence destruction. 

Chung was accused of being involved in the fabrication of documents including a college presidential award certificate in 2013 and 2014 to help her daughter get into medical school. 

She was also charged with investing in a private equity fund under someone else's name to bypass the code of ethics for public officials. 

She is also believed to have embezzled around 150 million won through a bogus consulting deal. 

Throughout court hearings, Chung has denied all allegations saying she has been a target of investigation that forced her husband to step down as justice minister. 

 She was released from nearly seven months of detention in May after the Seoul court decided not to extend her arrest. Prosecutors had demanded a prison term of seven years.