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| Seoul National University removed former Justice Minister Cho Kuk from his teaching position on Wednesday. |
By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul National University said Wednesday that it has decided to remove former Justice Minister Cho Kuk from his position as a law professor at the school.
"We believe it would be difficult for the indicted professor to carry on his role here," the university said in a statement. "We decided to remove him from the position. This doesn't mean he is either guilty or innocent. It is only an administrative measure to stop him teaching." The school also said it would monitor legal developments involving Cho until it makes a final decision.
Cho left the university in 2017 as he was selected to work for the presidential office. He returned to the school briefly last August but left again after he was appointed to lead the Justice Ministry. In October last year after he resigned from his position as justice minister, he came back to the university. He was supposed to teach a class in the upcoming spring semester.
Cho expressed his disappointment over the school's judgment but said he would accept it.
"I think the school's decision is unfair in that it was based only on the prosecution's biased judgment which I am fighting against. Yet, I accept the school's decision. I suspect the school was worried about the possible fuss my presence in the classroom could create. Until I am able to stand before students, I will continue to write and prepare myself for teaching," Cho wrote in a Facebook post.
On Dec. 31, the prosecution indicted Cho with 11 charges including taking bribes and forging documents for his daughter's university enrollment. On Jan. 17, he was again indicted for abusing his authority to stop the presidential office's internal probe into former Busan Vice Mayor Yoo Jae-soo over corruption allegations.
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