Court Schedules Witness Testimonies for August and September in Abuse of Power Case

The court overseeing the abuse of power allegations against former Blue House Personnel Secretary Cho Hyun-ok has decided to summon former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and former Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok as witnesses. Cho Hyun-ok is facing charges for allegedly directing the appointment of former Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-sik as the chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation (SMBC) during the Moon Jae-in administration.

On June 20, the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Woo In-seong, announced that it would conclude the examination of key witnesses by September 5 and set dates for the testimonies of Cho Kuk and Im Jong-seok. At the time of the alleged preferential treatment in December 2017, Cho Kuk was serving as the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, while Im Jong-seok was the Chief of Staff.

The prosecution argued that both individuals were senior officials directly involved in the process and therefore needed to be questioned. Prior to their testimonies, the court has scheduled to hear from Lee Sang-sik on August 22.

During the hearing, a witness, Choi Mo, who was the head of the Talent Management Division at SMBC, testified that during a visit to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in January 2018 to discuss the corporation's work plan, he was informed by a staff member that Lee Sang-sik was applying for the chairman position and that cooperation would be appreciated. When asked by the prosecution if this implied that Lee was being appointed as chairman, Choi responded, "I could only understand it that way."

Choi also mentioned that he had not heard where the recommendation for Lee came from but assumed that discussions had taken place with higher authorities. He recounted receiving a call from an executive at Eastar Jet, where Lee is a founder, requesting support and materials related to Lee's application, which he provided, including parts of the previous chairman's application and the job performance plan for the chairman position. Choi also stated that he communicated Lee's appointment to the executive recommendation committee just before the document review for the chairman position.

Cho Hyun-ok was indicted in December of last year for allegedly abusing her authority by preemptively supporting Lee's appointment through the Blue House Personnel Secretary's office and officials at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.