As a former law professor, former Justice Minister Cho Kook enjoyed giving lectures on law to the entire nation. When the Supreme Court ruling on the forced labor of victims during the Japanese colonial era came out, he lectured on the legal difference between ‘compensation’ and ‘compensation’. Compensation is to repay damages caused by unlawful acts, and compensation is to pay for losses caused by lawful acts.
He resolutely broke through the ‘Polyfesser’ controversy that followed him all his life with his unique legal knowledge. In response to criticism asking, “Do you think it is right to maintain a professorship at Seoul National University while serving as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and Minister of Justice for a long time?”, he lectured on the difference between an “appointed position” and an “elected position.” It is right to give up a professorship to hold an elected position, such as a member of the National Assembly, but it is legal to maintain a professorship for an appointed position such as the Minister of Justice. Because he maintains his professorship, at Seoul National University Law School, one position of criminal law professor has remained virtually vacant for several years, but he is legally retaining his professorship anyway.
Even after receiving a first trial judgment in the court not long ago, he showed off his appearance as a lawyer. After being convicted of irregularities in the entrance exam and violating the Kim Young-ran Act, he said, “I was acquitted on about eight charges,” and “I will fight the guilty part in the second trial.” Originally, in Korea, it is a rule to be arrested if convicted in the first trial, but the relevant regulations were revised in 2021, and he will remain in custody until the Supreme Court ruling comes out. Of course, in Korea, which guarantees a 3-judgement system, it is a right and a legal action for anyone to appeal against their own crimes.
After the court ruling came out, his child, Jo Min, has been active on social networking services (SNS). Even after his admission to Pusan National University Medical School was revoked, he filed an application for suspension of execution to the court and said that he worked as a medical doctor as a graduate of the medical school. Although he is a direct beneficiary of his corruption in the entrance exam, he is not legally handed over to trial, so he is currently enjoying his hobbies and visiting restaurants on social media. He cannot find an attitude of apology or reflection toward someone who could not have become a doctor because of him.
The actions of a lawyer recently appointed as the head of the National Investigation Headquarters are controversial. It is said that all kinds of legal measures were taken for the son who committed school violence. It is said that all legally guaranteed procedures, such as retrial, administrative lawsuit, and suspension of execution, were taken for the son who was transferred from the School Violence Countermeasures Committee. No one can know how the victims of school violence must have felt during the long legal period. Of course, this is also a right that every citizen of the Republic of Korea has, and an action that does not violate the law.
The law is not open to anyone. Taking legal action against the person who has harmed you, appearing before an investigative agency and showing words and actions that are not legally reprehensible, and taking appeal procedures when a judgment is against you are all difficult for non-lawyers. am. In this process, the person who knows the legal practice better than anyone else and knows how to exploit loopholes in the law often wins. It is also difficult without the strong support of the lawyer father to work as a doctor after receiving a decision to suspend the execution of the medical school after the cancellation of admission, or to go to a prestigious university despite committing school violence.
If you are a lawyer who knows the law better than anyone else, shouldn’t you pursue something bigger than simply ‘a life that does not violate the law’? It would not be desirable for a lawyer to enjoy the maximum benefit within the legal framework with one’s own legal knowledge regardless of the victim’s broken life. It is time to stop seeing the so-called ‘secrets of the law’ and ‘law demons’ in the social leadership.
